


Tainted

by Tayani



Category: One Piece
Genre: A lot of smirking Law, Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Childhood, F/M, Funny, Mystery Character(s), Psychological Trauma, Spoilers for Marinesford Arc, Spotted Pyjama Pants, Unconventional Relationship, split personality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-10
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-18 22:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1444720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tayani/pseuds/Tayani
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wanted to die, peacefully, laying in the snow. What she did not predict was an annoying surgeon who, for some reason, had to disturb her, and now here she was, stuck on a bloody submarine, not remembering a thing aside from sorrow and slaughter. She would taint with blood everything and everyone who comes near... Not that a certain Trafalgar Law really cares. LawxOC, R&R!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, well, well, here comes my new story:) It's OCxLaw, obviously, and just to make sure, I've written it inspired by another fanfic on that pairing: Just Me Here, Shivering, by Minatu-chan. It's not a stolen story, though, don't you guys worry 'bout it:) I love writing myself too much for that kind of tricks:)
> 
> Well, sadly, One Piece is not mine, but please, enjoy!
> 
> PS: The song's title is "The Promise" by Globus. Great song by the way, make sure to check it out!

_One sails the seas of life and beliefs..._

_The storms will lead you home..._

_These open roads will call you with a promise:_

_You'll walk the Earth alone..._

She was lying there, completely still. The landscape was so quiet. Snow was falling all around, covering her with its white, cold blanket. She smiled sadly, reaching in the direction of equally white sky. Her delicate, pale from cold fingers, caught a snowflake and instantly painted it red. She looked at her hands – they were soaked with blood.

The blood of her friends, her family, her town.

She chuckled, her mind going hazy due to a slow process of freezing to death. How accurate that snowflake has been... It has shown exactly what she was. She would taint everything and everyone who came near, leaving behind only death and sorrow.

She closed her eyes, not even feeling cold anymore. The world started to slowly dissolve into darkness. Last thing she felt was a gentle touch of snowflakes on her cheek; last thing she heard was someone calling in her direction.

Then, everything faded to black.

…

_Light._

She opened her eyes ever so slightly. The piercing white lights convinced her, however, that staying with her eyelids firmly shut was the best option for now.

_Is this what hell feels like?_

Well, now, that wasn't fair at all. She wanted death to be just an end to her pitiful existence, not the beginning of something even more sorrowful.

Wait... she wanted... what was it she actually...  _she...?_

_Just who... am I?_

…

She opened her eyes again. Was it just a second after it all faded, or was it few years... She didn't know. The lights still pierced through her eyes, but this time she was actually able to get used to them pretty quickly. Supporting herself with her elbows, she was able to take in her surroundings.

Seemingly, she probably didn't end up in hell. She was lying on a bed, a hospital one. The room was brightly lit, but had no windows; all kinds of medical equipment stood beside her. As she looked at small, pale hands, probably belonging to her, laying on the sheets, she noticed two IVs. She laid back down, trying to think. Such simple questions as where, who, and why she was, were beyond her. She only remembered wanting to die and peacefully falling asleep in the snow.

Well, if she wanted to die back then, that means she probably still does. It sounded logically for her hazed mind. With little strength she still had left, she took the IVs and ripped them out of her body, ignoring the pain from opening quite a wound. Her blood started to drip from opened arm, painting the bed scarlet. It reminded her of something, but quickly growing pool of red liquid seemed to suck out her ability to think straight. She heard many beeps, probably from the machinery beside, and the door in the corner swung open, revealing tall man in yellow-black hoodie and spotted jeans, white, fuzzy, spotted hat on his head. He cursed and ran to her side, quickly catching some gaze, putting it on the bleeding and shouting something about more blood bags. Was he the one who didn't want her to die? Why?

_So cruel..._

Tears started to spill from her eyes. He looked at her face and frowned in confusion. Why was she crying?

_Why... Why won't you just let me die?_

…

When she woke up again, she wasn't alone. The person she remembered from earlier sat beside her bed, reading a book. However, the moment she turned her head to see him better, he slammed the book shut and looked at her with cold, calculating stare of silvery-gray eyes.

"Don't even think of ruining my hard work again, understood?"

She looked at him for a long while, then looked away, uninterested. A vein popped on his forehead. "That's quite a behavior towards somebody who saved you..."

" _Why did you save me? Why didn't you just let me die?"_ she wanted to ask, but no words came from her open lips. She tried again, but failed miserably.

"Hm..." the man came closer to her, examining her quickly. "Can't talk? That's not so strange, due to the fact you were out cold for quite awhile before I managed to get to you, but... Well, it'll probably pass. For now, here." he shoved a notebook and a pen into her hands. "I need to examine you properly, so answer these questions. First: your name?"

She looked at him for a long while, then started to write, her hand still weak and shaking slightly.  _"I don't know. I don't remember anything."_

"Age?"

" _I. Don't. Know."_

"Occupation?"

There was a slight pause before she written, making every letter bigger than before.  _"Do you have troubles with reading? Alphabetic, probably?"_

He smirked, but stopped teasing her. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

" _3"_

"Correct. Last question – it seems you are currently suffering amnesia. I'll do some check up later and try to fix it, but can you tell me if you remember anything at all?"

She didn't respond for quite awhile. He started to wonder if she was going to answer at all, but then, she started to scribble something quickly, as if afraid that those words are going to disappear. _"I remember snow. And blood. I remember cold and I remember dying. I remember hearing somebody scream, though I don't know what they were screaming. And..."_ she halted, anxious.

"...and?"

" _I remember wanting to die. Who are you? Where am I? Why didn't you let me?"_

"..." He looked at her coldly again, and turned his back, heading for door. "My name is Trafalgar Law; I'm a doctor, and a pirate captain. You are on my pirate ship, submarine actually. We stopped at one winter island in search for supplies; found whole village butchered, heard strange singing, went exploring and discovered you laying in the snow few meters away. You were the sole survivor, and on the verge of dying."

" _But why did you save me?"_

"...weaklings can't pick their way of death."

He pushed the door open, not looking behind. A sound of quiet scribbling stopped him in his track, causing him to turn his head back ever so slightly.

" _You are... A very gentle person, Trafalgar Law."_

The sound of door shutting close was all she got in response, but it was enough to make her smile lightly for the first time in a while.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here comes chapter two, in which you'll get to know our mysterious (I hope) OC a little bit better... I tried not to make it too funny and maintain some darkness, but failed miserably - come on, Shachi is just too much fun. :) Don't kill me!
> 
> I wanted to thank all of you who left kudos, and especially Morte_Sangriz who actually took her time and left a comment! It made me happy ^^
> 
> One Piece is Eiichiro Oda's, and he still won't share...
> 
> Enjoy!

„Wow... Nice looking one..." what awakened her the next day were those exact words, coming from a stranger. She looked at him warily, not sure if she can trust this weird man with brightly coloured, oversized hat. "Oh. Sorry for wakin' ya up. Erm... Here's some food, and Captain said you have to eat, so..." she nodded, showing that she understood. Taking her notebook in hand, she written,

" _What's your name?"_

"Um..." he blushed, god only knows why. Males are... strange creatures, she thought. "S-Shachi. You?" She only shook her head sadly. "Still can't remember, huh... Well, everybody's on the ship been callin' you 'Yukionna', ya know, 'cause Captain found you in the snow..." He paused, looking at her expression. "Yeah, I know, it's terrible. Not to mention long. How 'bout 'Yuki' then? It's kinda better..."

She smiled lightly, nodding. " _Yuki's perfect. Thank you, Shachi-san."_

The man flushed yet again, playing with his hat. "J-just 'Shaichi' is alright, really. And, you're welcome. I mean, everybody's calling you like that, so I just... erm... A-anyway, you have to eat! Captain's gonna kill me if you won't!"

She scribbled quickly, " _Alright, don't worry, I'll eat, but... can I have one request?"_

Shachi tilted his head, "What is it?"

" _Can you stay and talk to me? I'm afraid I'd forget how humans speech sounds if I'll be alone for long..."_

"That's alright! I'll talk to you, no problem at all!" He smiled brightly, proudly giving her small tray with some tasty-looking soup, bread and warm tea. She took it carefully, immediately starting to eat. Just as she took the first bite, Yuki realized how hungry she was.

Next few hours passed quickly, like seconds. Shachi told her mostly everything about the place she was in right now; about the crew, and the Captain everybody admired so much. It appeared, that Heart Pirates were one of the Supernova crews, not that she knew what the hell that meant. Crew composed of Trafalgar Law, the captain and main doctor; next stood Penguin, Bepo and Shachi himself. Penguin was Shachi's best friend, and Bepo was a bear. She didn't quite catch up what's that supposed to mean, but, well, whatever. And then was the rest of crew, too many names for her to remember.

Soon, she felt herself relax. Her new friend was talking enthusiastically, waiting patiently for her written answers and using her new name as much as possible, to help her get used to it.

When Law came in to check on his patient, he was bewildered to see her smiling brightly and talking with his laughing crewmate. Well, as much talking as you can get with a mute. But, the moment she saw him, her expression changed; it became serious and almost... scared? Cautious? He couldn't really put his finger on it.

Shachi didn't stop his talking, oblivious to the person standing just behind him. "And then, we went to Captain's quarters, and guess what! He was sleeping with small Bepo on his head, in place of that usual fuzzy hat! You should've seen that, Yuki-chan, t'was so cute!"

"And you should really stop gossiping with strangers, Shachi." came all-too-well-known voice. Poor Shachi jumped few meters high and escaped through still open door, leaving the two alone, but not before whispering a small "See ya later!" to Yuki.

Law remained quiet, going around the bed and sitting on his chair. She followed him with her wary eyes, skipping some pages in her notebook so he won't be able to make out what her talk with Shachi was about.

"So... Remembered anything?" she just shook her head, leaning again on her covers.

"Feeling better?" she shrugged. Law sighed, wondering why was she acting that way towards him, while being on perfectly good terms with Shachi from day one.

"I've heard you've got a name already... Yuki-ya." at least that got him some constructive reaction. She written:  _"Yes, your crew thought of it. And I have nothing against."_

"Whatever, although I thought Yukionna is a much better idea." he smirked at her glare. Oh, how he liked this new teasing toy he got himself... Law leaned comfortably on his chair, looking at her with half-lidded eyes. "Don't be so shocked; I'm a part of the crew as well, you know? We do talk to each other..."

" _Am I that scary to be named after a demon, Trafalgar Law?"_ he frowned, and pointed at how she has written his name.

"Just Law. Or Trafalgar. Whichever is fine, but stop using my full name, it's creepy." It was her time to smirk.

" _You didn't answer, Trafalgar Law."_

"And you are annoying. No, you ain't scary. But you look similar. Yukionna's supposed to have black hair, be pale and beautiful." he chuckled at her blush and changed the subject. "You'll be moving today. I'm here to take out your IV's and take you to your room. You're still weak, but apart from that, nothing's physically wrong with you. Oh, and you should be able to speak again by the end of the week." Law moved to her left arm, taking out the needles with fast yet delicate, skillful motion. "And, before you ask, you'll have to stick with us for awhile. We won't make it to next island so quickly."

She shrugged again, successfully making his eyebrow twitch. That girl got some guts to act this way towards the great Surgeon of Death...

...

Yuki's new room was a remodeled old storage. Guy's from the crew put there quite a big bed, some drawers and a desk. The room had one round "window", the walls were painted white, with decorative spirals in nice, forest shade of green. Although a little pokey and strange at first, Yuki liked it non the less.

Not that she was going to tell Law.

Said Captain was nowhere to be found – Shachi, who was the one to take her to her room in the end, told her not to worry. Captain did something like this frequently. And lively ginger was more than excited to take her on a tour round the submarine. She met Penguin, who appeared to be calm and typical responsible person, Bepo, who was an actual bear (very emotional bear on top of that) and the rest of the crew. It took her few days to get used to her new surroundings, but in the end she started to feel strangely comfortable in a cramped submarine, full of crazy males – her new friends. Soon she didn't even have to use her notebook anymore – Shachi and co. managed to understand her through simple gestures and body language. Like that time in pilot cabin, for example.

...

"See? This is a pilot cabin. Normally somebody's here, but right now we're in underwater current, so the boy in charge, namely me, has some free time." said Shachi, letting her in a tiny room. Yuki looked around, and pointed at some strange thing hanging from the roof.

"Ah, this? That's periscope. It lets you see what's happening above sea level."

Yuki tilted her head, frowning slightly. Shachi guided her closer to the object. "Wanna try? Here, you need to hold these things and look trough that. That's right. See anything?"

Yuki stood for a few seconds, smiling and observing the surface of water, painted in rosy colour of sunset. It was beautiful. Then, something caught her eye. She looked back at Shachi, pointing at the periscope, then up, in the direction she was looking, urging him to take a look. He complied, but didn't see anything.

"There's nothing, just the sun, Yuki-chan. You sure you saw something?" Yuki just rolled her eyes and shown him one finger, then made a motion saying 'big'.

"What, don't tell me, a warship?" she nodded, and he moved back to looking.

"Damn it, you're right! I just saw it; 'twas sailing to the East, so it was hard to see... Woah, you amazing, Yuki-chan! I'll let the Captain know."

Shachi took some pipe out of the wall and whistled in it. Soon, a sleepy voice answered. "What is it?"

"Captain, we spotted big ship at three. Not marines, some pirates; I'd say, not very strong. Never seen that Jolly Roger before, but the boat is freakin' huge! What do we do?"

Yawn could be heard from the pipe. "Whatever... do we need anything? If not, just let them pass..."

"Well, we don't have much gold left, and not even a drop of rum..."

"Shachi, enlighten me: every time I ask if we need anything, why is it the rum that's always gone?"

"Well, Captain..." Shachi leaned against the wall, winking at amused Yuki, "do I have to remind you just  _who_  it was that got dead drunk on our last party and woken up with gravely hangover next day? Well, I know you remember; so, exactly then and there the rum went missing last time."

What answered was silence. And then, after a while, "Long time since the last plunder, wasn't it... Well, alright. I'll let us have some fun. Bring'er up, Shachi!"

...

In the armory, Yuki swung a katana with quite unsure look on her face. She looked at Penguin, who guided her in here, telling her to pick some weapon for herself. Man sighed and came closer.

"Maybe something shorter?" she shook her head, and frowned, then picked short tantõ in her left hand. She nodded to herself, though still not quite sure, and shown her prey to Penguin. Said crewmember shrugged. Not that she didn't know he liked her; he was just his usual, little on the grumpy side, self. That man with penguin-hat was a mystery for Yuki since day one, but soon enough she found out, that his quiet and responsible personality was not sign of hatred towards her. If anything, she would say he's her friend.

"Whatever suits you. You sure? Then let's go."

...

The submarine was already on the surface, sailing with favouring wind. They should reach their destination in few minutes. Whole crew gathered on main deck, the Captain standing as the very first.

"Listen to me! We're acting as quickly as possible – smooth prey, we're going in, taking what we want, and going out. No casualties if possible, I don't need any more patients. Understood?"

A scream followed: "Aye, aye Captain!"

Law smirked and turned in direction of enemy ship. He could feel his Nodachi singing on his side – this is gonna be so much fun!

Unlucky pirates were either too surprised by their sudden appearance, or too arrogant to take seriously pirate crew which they easily outnumbered. But as soon as they were close enough, Law used his Room: Shambles, and all the hell broke lose.

Yuki found her way on the enemy ship which she personally spotted; couldn't help herself to feel proud about that. She dodged few half-hearted attacks, took down few opponents who were stupid enough to think she was weak (alright, maybe she lost her memories, but, hell, her hands and feet sure remembered the steps to dance called "fight") and went downstairs, to take a look round enemy's goods. She ignored packed with gold cabins, and ran straight to captains quarters; luckily, nobody was here. Quickly rummaging through drawers, Yuki let out satisfied sigh – she found what she was looking for. Hiding it in one of pockets in her borrowed Heart Pirates uniform, she made her way back to the main deck – or would have, if not for somebody jumping at her from behind.

She made a quick dodge, but were unable to completely escape – enemy's blade cut her side, not deep, but successfully painful and irritating. Due to adrenaline pumping in her veins, Yuki didn't really care – in one quick move of her katana, enemy was down on the deck, screaming for help. Yuki tch-ed angrily, and swung her blade in her hand again – somehow, it didn't really feel right. She brought her hand to her side, examining the wound. It wasn't that bad, she thought, and looked at her hand, covered in scarlet liquid.

_Oi..._

_...Mother..._

_Look, it's her! It's Nee-san..._

_...escaped..._

_...should stop dealing with pirates..._

… _Nee-san!..._

_...that birdy-guy..._

_...RUN!..._

_...Ver..._

_blood and fire... everywhere..._

_...stop...STOP!..._

_...your fault..._

_It's all your fault..._

Yuki almost fainted – she caught her head in desperate motion, her eyes wide; trying to put together all those thoughts and... memories? she was suddenly flooded with. Reality came back to her in form of another swordsman, just about to hit her. Yuki didn't have time to react, but luckily, she didn't have to; somebody hit her opponent on the head just in time; although, she wasn't utterly content with just  _who_  it was.

"Not the best time to be daydreaming, Yuki-ya, and didn't I say I don't need any more work? Geez, troublesome, aren't you..." Surgeon of Death looked at the wounded girl, faking an exasperated sigh.

Yuki rolled her eyes, still slightly shocked. She pushed herself off the supporting wall, deciding to go away from the teasing doctor, but lost her balance as soon as she tried to stand on her own. Again, it was Law who supported her. Yuki was aware of her predicament, but nevertheless she instantly tried to push herself off the surgeon. Law smirked at her attempt.

"What is it, Yuki-ya? You don't want anybody to see you weak like this? Or is it because you're being saved, again, if I may add, by my humble person...?"

Yuki looked at him, fire in her emerald eyes. Bastard had too much fun with this! Her lips opened on their own, and only three words she could think of at the moment spilled through them.

"Neither. You stink."

Law looked at her for quite a moment, shocked. He sweatdropped and let her sit, moving away. "Well... You know, Yuki-ya... I didn't expect your first words after a week of coma and muteness to be something like that..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N just for the record, "Yuki" means snow, and "Yukionna" is a name of Japanese snow demon. So you know. R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let's party, next chapter's here! I hope you guys enjoy my writing, thank you all for reading it so far! Also, I am really sorry for the long break. The good news is, I will be uploading the rest of the story right now, as I am finally officially migrating from ff.net. 
> 
> There will be something akin to fluff in this one (well, as much as Yuki is able to:P) and probable OOC-ness in this chapter, so just don't kill me, ok? It'll get better:)
> 
> I regret nothing~
> 
> Enjoy! :)

"Party, guys! We have loads of things to celebrate today!" Shachi was running around the submarine, shouting his head off. He went to Yuki's room without knocking (not that she mind that) and exclaimed happily, "Come on, Yuki-chan! Let's go party! Everyone's there you know, and cook's made something delicious! We have booze and stuff, and we'll be getting our share of gold!"

Yuki couldn't help smiling at her excited friend. She was sitting on her enormous bed, trying to organize all the clothes this fight get her. Apparently, there were quite a few girls in their enemy's crew, so all girly clothes automatically became hers. Free of charge, because, as Penguin stated "If not for you, we wouldn't even bother looking at these things."

Yet, she couldn't just go party. Her thoughts were spinning, proceeding the moment of enlightenment she had, which she kept for herself since their plunder. "I'm not in the mood."

"Oh, come on! You're one of the reasons why we have this feast, after all! Not every day you start talking again!" Shachi looked at her, making puppy eyes. "Pwease?"

Yuki laughed, melodically and with pleasure, happy with her new voice. "Alright, alright... Just give me five minutes to choose something to wear."

Shachi nodded and made his way back, but something caught his eye. "Oh... You took that?" he pointed at long, emerald dress hanging on the doorframe.

Yuki blushed. After they won a fight and Law was done patching them up (mostly, patching her up, which, given the fact he was still fussing about her first words, wasn't nice experience) they went to explore their loot. Shachi, Law and Yuki discovered whole cabin filled with girly clothing, and both guys declared they would help her choose (Law with sadistic smirk on his face), as there were too much to fit in her room anyway. Actually, they both were great help, but then, something weird happened. Law stopped in front of that dress, touched it gently, and bitten his lip. He probably thought they don't see him, but Yuki did. And then, he shook his head, murmuring something like "unpractical... and she wouldn't wear it anyway..." and went to another wardrobe. She had absolutely no reason to pick up the dress after that, and was absolutely oblivious why she did.

"Erm... I thought it would suit me... Like, if I ever needed anything like that..." she blushed even more, earning an interested look from her friend.

"Well, good choice it is, it's exactly the colour of your eyes. More importantly, come on, we need you on the party! You know, as a reason to drink booze for, that at least!" Shachi smiled and closed her door behind him. She sighed, watching him go.

…

Parties on yellow submarine always took place in main cabin. Even if, as right now, were they on surface. This room was just special, and that's all it was to it.

Cabin had two rows of small, round windows on one wall, and beside that, was nicely lit – not with sharp, white light from infirmary but soft, warm kind, similar to candles. Walls were painted with light colours, making relaxing atmosphere. Right now, in one corner stood musical trio and in the middle – big table with grand feast on it. There were also cards, all other kinds of games, booze and all needed for real, pirate's party. Currently, all the stools were busy – Yuki found herself sitting beside Shachi and Penguin; in front of her was Bepo. What she couldn't understand was why Law had to sit exactly between her ginger friend and the bear.

For the party, she decided to wear black jeans, but for very long time couldn't decide which top to choose. Then, the one caught her eye, and she took it, wide smirk on her face. It was electric-green one, with black letters saying: "Genius has side effects". Zipped, black hoodie completed the image.

Talks, laughs, dancing and singing started, first toast were made and all the crew busied themselves with eating and drinking. Law leaned slowly in Yuki's direction, trademark smirk on his face.

"Nice T-shirt."

"Thanks" Yuki managed not to blush, and smirked back, taking some nice-looking salad for herself. "I think it suits perfectly one spindly person I know."

Law frowned, wondering if she meant him, which says she actually consider him a genius... Wait, had that insolent Yukionna just said "spindly"? He shrugged, deciding it would be best answer for now, and went back to sulking.

Yuki chuckled. "I can't believe what I said back then hurt your ego so much."

Law turned his half-faked, fussed gaze at her. "Because you lied."

"I didn't."

"You did."

"Did not."

"Do too."

They both looked at each other and burst into laughing, successfully scaring the hell out of Heart Pirates. Seeing their Captain even sincerely smiling was a rare sight.

"Alright, you know, you were covered in blood, not yours, not to mention sweat, dirt and seawater; don't tell me that concoction doesn't stink." Yuki managed to say between giggles.

"Ah, but I didn't mean that you lied in that case; I made sure to check myself either I do stink or not. No, I mean you lied when you told me that was the reason you wanted me to let you go."

Yuki blushed against her will, trying to glare at Law's winning smirk. "That's..."

"ALRIGHT GUYS! LET'S MOVE IT! DANCING, DANCING!"

Shachi exclaimed, his voice slightly giggly due to his fifth booze. Yuki swallowed whole glass worth of rum in one go, thankful for interruption. "Bring it on!"

…

She sat on the railing, her feet swinging above the ocean. Her raven hair dancing in light breeze, emerald eyes looking somewhere past the horizon. A sigh escaped her lips, followed by whispered song.

One sails the seas... Of life and beliefs...

The storms will lead you home...

"You sang this song back then, didn't you..." came familiar voice from behind. Law made himself comfortable beside, handing her one of two bottles with rum he got with him. Party ended quite awhile ago, given that only conscious participants were Law, who didn't want more comments about how he was ruining their alcohol supplies, and Yuki, who retreated to her room somewhere in the middle, claiming she's sleepy. In fact, what she needed was some privacy and fresh air to think the events of the day over in peace.

"...I know." Somehow, she didn't really mind his interrupting this time. She needed to tell somebody sooner or later.

"You remembered." that wasn't a question. Law sat close, but not overly so, supporting himself with his hands. He, too, looked somewhere far at the ocean, probably also lost in thought.

"...Not everything; just a bit, actually." she still didn't look at him.

"Tell me." well... of course he wouldn't leave that alone anyway. Yuki sighed. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"That song... I remember my mother used to sing it for me, ever since I was little. That town you found me in was my hometown; I had a mother there, and younger sisters." Law waited patiently for her to continue.

"All of them died. And... I. I was the one who did this. I don't remember how, or why, but it is all my fault." she ended, her hand shaking lightly on a bottle.

"So, the mystery of surprisingly stubborn desire to die solved, I guess. But, you know what, Yukionna?" she looked him in the eye, question hanging in the air. "I couldn't care less." He said with overconfident smirk.

Yuki looked at him, completely baffled. First emotion that came over her was anger, I mean, how's that bastard even dare to say something like this after he told me to tell him?! Next was disappointment; she didn't know why, but she actually thought he was going to somehow comfort her. And then, she finally realized.

It was the same thing as when he told her why he saved her; that time, in the infirmary. He said something cruel, but said it in such a way she knew he's doing it only to keep his "sarcastic, cruel pirate captain" mask on. A strange gentleness and kindness, buried deep inside that creepy individual of the Surgeon of Death.

She stood up, smiling happily and feeling much better. Law really didn't care – he wasn't going to judge her despite all she might have done in the past. And, as she understood it now, nor did any other crewman. She looked at him, letting Law see just a glint of gratitude in her eyes, and gave him quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks, Trafalgar Law."

And with that, she was off inside the submarine, leaving the Captain of Heart Pirates alone and slightly shocked. He groaned quietly, wondering if it was really a good idea to let such an annoying person on his ship. Nevertheless, when Law was sure nobody was peeking, he let one tattooed finger caress a frustratingly heated skin on a particular place on his cheek. Strange, he thought. Just what kind of reaction could have cause it to became so warm?


	4. Chapter 4

...

Inside the submarine was quiet. Captain retreated to his quarters just after breakfast, asking Penguin how long it would take them to reach the next island. He did that continuously for last four days, ever since the party. There wasn't a single reason for such behaviour – they were fully stocked thanks to that last plunder, and resurfaced frequently, so life wasn't so cramped as it used to be. The only cause of Captain's distress Yuki could have think of was she herself, and that worried her, worried her a lot.

She wasn't sure if she interpreted Captain's words at that time after the party correctly, and, the thought that made her blush, was it the right thing she kissed him, even if it was only on the cheek. From what Yuki knew, Law wasn't exactly very touch-feely person and could easily misunderstood something... This, or he simply wanted her off his ship.

There were another reason for Yuki's inner turmoil. Even few "another reasons", actually. First was that today Penguin's answer was finally "In few hours, Captain.", and she seriously couldn't bring herself to pack. And she needed to, eventually. Of course she won't stay on that ship any longer than needed. Of course.

Second reason was much more serious than that (not that she was going to confess it was the first one she was thinking of the most). After the plunder her newly gained memories started to cause her troubles. She wasn't sleeping very much – even though she didn't want them to worry, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo spotted it on day one, and continuously tried to make her feel better and as sleepy as possible. Soon, the rest of the crew followed pattern, and she seriously needed to tell them to stop, or she was going to hate good, hot milk with honey for the rest of her life. Only Law remained oblivious to her state, even when her bags under now tired and unfocused emerald eyes became bigger than his.

There was a reason for that lack of sleep she was not going to share with anybody. Every night since she got her memories back, the nightmares would come; terrible, scary dreams, and always the same. It would start innocently – she would find herself looking at small, pale girl with raven hair. The girl would sit quietly, playing and painting something on the huge, blank pages in front of her. She would paint some figures, of humans and animals, all in beautiful, bright colours. Then, two strange figures will come; the first one will take the girl and start... dancing with her, or maybe just make her dance, tugging at her hair and hands painfully, and the other one will hold the paintings, ready to crush them. Then, the girl... no... suddenly, it was her who was being manipulated into that painful dance, and she would try to escape; she would push that first madly grinning figure away, ripp those... strings she was attached to it by, and turn to look at her paintings getting slashed and burned by that other person. And then, the blood; sticky, scarlet liquid will start to spill at her hands from remains of her work and she would wake up with a quiet scream.

Back to the present; Yuki started to look through her few belongings. She couldn't take all of the clothes she gained, so she needed to choose. Again.

After exactly one hour of having peaceful (or not so, given the fact she wanted to tear every damn thing to shards quite a few times) packing time, her door were widely opened, revealing Shachi. Her personal Mad Hatter looked around the room with disapproving look and crossed his arms. "Packing?"

Yuki didn't let that get to her. She would not admit she didn't want to leave the merry company she got herself past these few days. God, it was only few days... It certainly felt like ages. Who was she kidding, really... In only such of a short amount of time the yellow submarine became her home. Impossible. "Obviously."

Shachi made a face. "Yuki-chan..." She didn't answer. "Erm... we'll be landing in two hours." And, what surprised her, Shachi didn't say anything after that. He just sighed and left.

Yuki zipped small, black bag she borrowed from the Heart Pirates and went to close the door. Having nothing else to do, she laid on her... no, just on the bed and tried to be positive.

Let's face it. She didn't want to leave the crew. She wanted to stay, to be their nakama, to spend forever listening to Shachi's jokes, trying to make Penguin show any kind of emotion, laughing at Bepo's constant apologising. And even though she didn't want to think about that, she also wanted to keep going out in the nights, to sit on the railing and sing her own sad song; to wait patiently, because maybe Law will go out again; maybe he will sit beside, hand her something to drink and they will talk; or just keep quiet. They will tease each other, secretly having fun, but trying their best never to show any sign of it to the other.

She wanted... she wished she could stay.

But Yuki was sure of one thing; she couldn't be there, on this, ship, if Law didn't want her here. And he obviously didn't. That's why she'll quietly leave, and try to forget; she forgot almost everything from her past life, all that's left in her mind are scenes of pain and death; forgetting these few warm memories should be... easy, right?

Her eyes closed, and then opened again, looking at small package she took out from her jeans pocket. Yuki planned to give this to him long ago; just after the successful plunder, actually; but never really found right moment to do so. She went to get them to captain's quarters on that ship, being absolutely sure it was the place where the most beautiful and valuable treasures are being kept; and she wasn't wrong.

Her pale fingers roamed over the cold surface of gold. She discovered Law's ears were pierced, during first breakfast with all the crew; due to the fact he and Shachi started some kind of heated argument, she took her time properly observing ever-smirking captain, and came to the realisation that even though he could have, he didn't wear any earrings, as well as having a strange thought about how nice would simple gold look on the background of that tanned skin. Conclusion: golden earrings = perfect 'thank you' gift for Trafalgar Law. Problem was, how to get some nice jewellery in the middle of the ocean (AND, beneath the surface, to make things funnier); you could say that ship back then fell from heavens to her. And, oddly enough, she found just what she was looking for. The remaining problem was – how to give those things to Law.

Well... Not that she didn't have an idea how to overcome that one.

…

Shachi and Yuki burst into the latter's cabin, collapsing on the bed and trying to stop laughing their heads off. Yuki was giggling especially happily – she was grateful it was Shachi whom she caught on her way to captains' quarters, so she could spend these last few hours doing silly things with him and loosen up atmosphere a little.

Shachi started to quiet a little, and was actually able to say something. "...that was... the most ridiculous thing I've done in a while..." he laid completely on Yuki's bed, breathing still heavy from running.

"...Did you count... playing strip poker with Penguin... who should've been nicknamed 'Mr. Poker Face'... on the party?" Yuki managed to say between giggles. Shachi paled.

"I really did that?"

"Yup."

"You saw that?"

"Yup."

"...kill me..."

Yuki laughed and patted her friend lightly on his back. "Don't worry, you always play counting just hats anyway, and then you tried to make Law play along, so the game ended."

Shachi looked at her with panic starting to bloom in his eyes. "I really tried to make Captain play strip poker in front of you?"

Yuki nodded, faking serious expression. "He didn't want to, though, and told you he would strip you of your insides if you ask again."

"...and next? Man, just how much booze did I drink back then?"

"Then you promptly stopped asking, and the answer is: fifteen cups till poker tournament."

Shachi closed his eyes. "And I was still conscious, huh... New record. But, coming back to present, Yuki-chan, can you explain me simply and without long words, why the heck couldn't you just simply give him that 'thank you gift'?"

Yuki turned on her belly, so she was facing the ginger "Oh, come on, Mad Hatter, like it's so simple to just come to a guy who's been avoiding you for last four days and say something like 'hello! I've got something for you!' and give him a present."

"Mad Hatter? And, isn't it?" Shachi furrowed slightly, trying, like many others before him, to actually understand woman's logic.

"You don't like a nickname? I think it's nice... And yeah, it is. Maybe not for you, but for me certainly yes." Yuki smirked, but looked with curiosity at Shachi's trying.

"No, it's quite alright, I guess... Wait, so, because it's not easy thing to just simply go and give something to captain, you needed to tiptoe to his quarters, snuggle in, trying your best not to wake him up, leave the package on the desk, covering it with his papers, and escape, stealing one of his hoodies on the way? Why you took it for, anyway? And why the hell did I have to do all of the above with you?"

Yuki looked at him with guilt in her eyes and took the stolen hoodie from under her own, packing it swiftly in her small bag. "Yep, I think it was quite a good plan. And, it worked. And, I took the hoodie because I like it, which means, along with me being a pirate for now, that I could took it without permission. And, you did all of the above 'couse you're my friend and you just couldn't let me risk my life all on my own."

Shachi sighed and rolled his eyes. "Did that make me a decoy?"

"Kind of. Sorry. Harshness of life."

"...I hate you."

"Oh, no, you don't..."

…

The island was small and covered in thick mist. It had quite a big town, some villages, and no particularly important name. People there liked to sing, but it's really all there was to it.

Yuki jumped down form the submarine's deck. The ground felt foreign to her feet, and for a moment, she needed to be careful not to lose her balance. Yet she started to move towards the town, not looking back, not daring to. She could almost sense Shachi's disappointed expression and Penguin, patting his back. They were the only ones that saw her off; she didn't want the rest of the crew to know it's a final farewell. They anchored just a second ago, and all the guys were still inside, preparing for joy and rest the town was going to get them.

The girl was slowly reaching her destination – one of the smallest taverns in this town. She knew, that the pirates would go straight for the biggest one, so she decided to book a room somewhere far from it. The bartender and owner in one was nice enough and stopped flirting with her just after five minutes. He then told her some things about the town they were in – it was apparently called Abhean, and only thing the natives could be proud about was giant library in the centre.

Library... mused Yuki. Perfect. Just what she needed to solve few mysteries – namely, such philosophical questions as "Who the hell am I?".

…

Law was spinning on his chair, round and round, trying to actually think. Last few days he did nothing else – he skipped most meals, spending as much time as possible in his room, trying to fucking think.

The reasons of his inner turmoil were few and far apart. How to proceed when he was finally nearing the Sabaody Archipelago; what to do with Doflamingo - cunning man won't let him forget his presence for too long, especially when that idiot Bellamy went and allowed himself to be beaten by some weakling from East Blue; and, finally, what to do with no one else but a troublesome, highly annoying and teasingly sarcastic individual he lately got himself on the ship – namely, Yuki-ya.

The weirdest thing here – the latter case seemed to be the one he found the most hard to find resolution for.

Normally, he would just kick the patient out of his ship as soon as they anchored to another island, if not sooner. But this was no normal case. And few were the arguments saying so. Law closed his eyes, deciding to logically think it all through. Again.

First: his crew. He couldn't sail the Grand Line without a crew, and what annoyed him, they all got highly attached to that stupid Yukionna. What he would do if they were to rebel against kicking her out?

Second: the girl herself. She was a fast learner, he could say by the fact he actually caught her piloting the submarine when Shachi was off making coffee once. She was smart, had a wit, and was one of the best teasing toys he met so far. Plus, she was quite good with swordsmanship, so it wasn't like she would be a burden during their constant fights.

Third: … Law sharply opened his eyes. He didn't just thought about that time his cheek got mysteriously heated up, did he? He frowned, wondering. Surgeon still hadn't discovered what could've caused it, even after searching in every medical book on the ship.

And, finally, fourth: there was no way in Hell, and seriously, if there should ever be one, he would die and brush it off of the Hell's landscape, that Trafalgar Law was going to personally ask some weak, teasing and highly annoying girl to stay on his ship.

No. Fucking. Way.

He sighed, and decided to go for a walk. There was no point in sitting in a cramped submarine just so he could replay all those thoughts over and over again in his mind. Maybe, he should find some nice, quiet and peaceful inn and rent a room? No kidding, soon those bags under his eyes would get bigger than his face. Law could really use some nice rest, which sadly, despite being great way to travel the seas of Grand Line, his submarine just couldn't ensure.

Nodding to himself in appreciation, he stood up from his rolling chair and looked around to see where his hat and favourite hoodie was. Fuzzy thing he localized soon enough on top of some waste-paper on his desk – but hoodie probably went missing for good. Darn, that room could really use some cleaning, he thought. Taking the hat and adjusting his clothes, the Surgeon of Death got ready for going out; or he would have, if not for a small, black package that slipped off the desk and landed precisely on his foot, causing him to groan; if not in pain, then in pure annoyance. He picked it up though, and curiously read a note attached.

To Trafalgar Law.

Thank you for saving my life.

Even if I didn't want that, you allowed me to start again.

I will never forget how much of a gentle person you are.

Let's meet again, someday.

Yukionna.

Opening a package with an unreadable expression, he stared for few long minutes at it's contents. Then, he sighed and massaged his temples, trying to fight completely illogical urge to grin like an idiot. "Oh, fine!" he growled in a general direction of the ceiling.

...

Let's just say the Heart Pirates were a little surprised by the plain rings of gold adorning their captain's ears, two in each. Not that they particularly cared about what kinds of jewellery he wears. Only Shachi looked at the little circles with knowing smirk, thinking just for how long will he need to wait for his new-made friend to come back now.


	5. Chapter 5

The room was dark; through closed curtains only few fresh slivers of light could be seen, dancing with the dust and illuminating a little bed in the middle. Actually, all of the room was quite small, but comfortable. It also wasn't a place you'd call home – more of an inn.

On the bed laid a man, his dark hair creating an aureole around his head on a white pillow, as he slept peacefully, breathing even, lips slightly curled up. He sure was having a pleasant dream.

He was slim, but his figure looked quite strong, even under the clothing he was covered in. His bare feet curled around the covers, hiding from view lean legs covered in spotted jeans, and revealing only yellow-black hoodie and a pair of strong, tattooed arms. His face was handsome and looked somewhat exotic – two golden earrings in each ear, caramel complexion, unruly, raven hair and sideburns, a goatee. But his features were gentle when he slept, his looks made delicate by long eyelashes and that relaxed, pleased smile.

The man shifted slightly, not wanting to wake up, trying to snuggle closer into the comfortable warmth.

* * *

Trafalgar Law paced trough town, continuously getting more and more fed up with everything. He really didn't understand himself – walking always provided to make him feel much more relaxed, so why wasn't it working now?

Well, answered his arrogant and irritating inner voice, maybe the town in question was at fault. I mean, it's absolutely great. Even though the island is a winter one, right now it's summer here, so no snow and ice. People (not that there were enough to even form a crowd) were walking here and there, shopping, halting to greet their friends, spending time with their families. They all were in good mood, the weather clearly the biggest case here. And seriously, the town got a really good atmosphere as it was. Nicely coloured, little houses, beautiful decorated shops, old lanterns, already being lit up...It would require only different decorations and snow to turn the main street into perfect Christmas picture.

Smiles on the faces, welcoming, warm atmosphere all around, the beauty of the town...

It was. So. Fucking. Boring.

"Excuse me, Miss..." Law said, letting his eyes fell on not very ugly native girl, whom he was positive he just caught red-handed on checking him out. The girl's eyes were blue, and her hair blond, and right now she was blushing furiously. Perfect, thought the Surgeon. She would most likely provide him some information, and after that, well... He was short on experiment subjects anyway, so why not ask her out for a coffee and test some new drugs? Plus, the last but not least, after spending some time with that Yukionna, his ego desperately needed some fuel.

"Um... yes?" asked the girl, successfully interrupting his musing. The doctor looked at her with smirk that were as polite as he could get himself to make, and began some small talk indicating he was a stranger here and wanted some directions. The girl wasn't so stupid as it seemed from the start, or quite the opposite, but with a big dash of romanticism, so soon enough, he found himself sitting in some nicely looking coffee shop, with a cup in one hand and a stopwatch (though confined under the table) in the other, listening to annoying babbling of a girl and waiting for his first drug to take effect.

"And you were saying about interesting places in this town, right?" he managed to say, making it thanks to a moment of silence when the blonde paused her rambling to drink her coffee.

"Ah..." she said, making quite thoughtful expression. "Oh, right, you're not from here. I mean, it's a really small town, and there isn't anything particularly interesting... Just the main street, the shops, the library, but it's all dull."

"The library?" Law interrupted again, quite interested. He really could use some new books for the trip. Next stop would probably be Sabaody, and then, the New World... He really could use something to read on the way, as well as some data and maps. Yeah, the library sounded like a good idea.

"Oh, you like books? I mean, the library is the best place here! It's so interesting, you have to see it! I know. We should finish this coffee and I'll guide you there, and then I can show you around, and, God, look, it's so late already, you probably don't have a place to stay, don't worry, my home is just few meters from here, so..." the girl started to mumble, and Law pressed the "stop" button on his stopwatch, making mental notes of the girls behavior. That was a good experiment, and he managed to get some data as well, he thought with satisfied smirk. Right now, she would most likely go to sleep, and wake up not remembering a thing. The Surgeon of Death stood up, deciding he would let the girl pay, and went out, just as the irritating blonde's head collapsed on a table. Now, he at least knew what to search for...

…

To say that the library was a place where the books were stored was more than just a misinterpretation. At least in that case.

The building was high; well, at least higher than those around it; and made of white marble. Few sculptures adorned it's walls, but not too many. That way, the feeling the building was giving away was not the one of a kitsch, but elegance.

Incredible, thought Law vaguely, going in and standing there, baffled expression on his face. Such a small island, such an unimportant and hardly known town, yet he has never once seen such a great amount of books stacked in one place.

The Library was quiet and filled with familiar scent of old paper, print and dust, mixing and soaking everything with unmistakable smell of pure wisdom. All the rooms he could see right now were warmly lit, and, given the fact there was thick, old, red carpet everywhere on the floor as well as cushions, you could simply sit where you wished so and read to your full.

The rooms were given names, all according to the main topic of books inside. Just in front of the main entrance were Music Room, and Law frowned; he could almost swear he saw there a familiar person, but before he could take a better look, the figure was already gone. All those thoughts went missing somewhere, though, when he saw the name of the next room to the right. The Medical Room.

Sure enough, half an hour later he was seated on one of the comfortable cushions near the lamp, surrounded by heavy volumes and with a notebook in his left hand, lost in a lecture of _"The study of medieval tortures – primitive science or pure cruelty?"._ This is going to be so much fun, he thought happily.

…

It was five hours already, when one of the library workers found him, hunched over one particular book in Music Room, and asked him politely to leave, because the library is being closed right now. Law had no idea he spend there so much time, not that he really mind.

Right now he was limping up the stairs to his room, with every step being more and more conscious how tired he was. He didn't even bother to turn the lights on or undress – he just tossed his hat and heeled boots off and slumped on the bed, falling asleep at the moment his head touched the pillow.

This is going to be a well-slept night.

* * *

The room was dark; through closed curtains only few fresh slivers of light could be seen, dancing with the dust and illuminating a little bed in the middle. Actually, all of the room was quite small, but comfortable. It also wasn't a place you'd call home – more of an inn.

On the bed laid a woman, curled up resembling a cat, as she slept peacefully, breathing even. She sure was having a pleasant dream.

She was one you would call beautiful without hesitating – her long, raven hair contrasting nicely with pale complexion. She was dressed up in black hoodie and a pair of dark jeans, but her feet were bare. Her face was peaceful and relaxed, her rosy-coloured lips slightly parted and smiling.

The woman shifted slightly, not wanting to wake up, trying to snuggle closer into the comfortable warmth.

…

Yuki was strolling through the warmly lit passages of library, trying to make something out of all the data she was able to get here. All in all, she decided it wasn't a very good idea to research her own life – what she found caused her to hate herself even more.

Because, all she found was death.

The research she tried to make didn't last long. She discovered an archive with wanted posters, and decided that it should be a good place to start. Soon enough, she found herself on one of the documents, the real name unknown, the age unknown, but the photo spoke for itself. It shown pale girl with raven hair and striking emerald eyes, smiling wickedly, not caring that there was a splash of clearly stranger's blood on her cheek.

She looks like a demon, thought Yuki. And she is me...

The description under the photo informed her, that girl nicknamed "Emerald Killer" was highly dangerous and most likely mad, and warned not to go anywhere near her without Navy's assistance. She was an assassin with a bounty of 75 000 000 beli. It also stated she was a Devil Fruit user, most likely Paramecia, but the kind of which was yet to be discovered.

When nobody was looking, Yuki stolen the poster, both wanting to keep and loathing it.

She was an assassin. She killed people. Most likely strangers, that did nothing against her. Why the hell is she still alive? It would be better for people of her kind to just leave this world and let others live in peace.

She walked out of the library, actually halting in the Music Room, thinking that maybe that theme would help her calm down, but decided otherwise and left the building trough the back door.

Yuki walked the small town which she found no longer soothing, and tried to think. What should she do now? She couldn't stay here anymore; she was dangerous. She couldn't go anywhere else. She seriously thought of killing herself again, but then, and unwelcome image crept into her mind.

The image of cold fury swirling in the hypnotizing, silvery-gray orbs, of caramel skin, raven hair and thin lips and words that slipped through them;

" _Don't you dare ruining my hard work again, understood?"_

Yuki slumped her head. She knew that already – she won't be able to commit suicide anymore.

Just as she thought that, she caught a glimpse of a commotion in one of many coffee shops on the main street of the town. She went inside, and promptly asked one of more intelligent looking men what's going on.

"Well, you see, miss, there was a couple here, just a while ago, and then the guy left, so I thought they maybe had an argument or something... But then I realized the girl was Susie, and I know here since forever, and I never seen the guy before, and then she fainted, and I don't even know if she's alive, and, and..." he halted, looking at her with eyes full of worry. Yuki understood the situation quickly, and asked all the others to leave, looking at the girl in question. She was still sitting by the coffee table, her blonde hair covering her face.

"You tried to wake her up, I take it?" she asked, coming nearer. The owner just nodded, clearly frightened.

Yuki touched the girl's arm gently and made her body move so she was no longer collapsed on the table. Apparent Susie was not an ugly one, quite cute actually, and seemed to be in deep slumber. Yuki quickly found her pulse and smiled reassuringly at the owner. "She's alive." she said, happy for that, yet annoyed that none of the men even thought of checking. All after a scandal... she thought.

Some closer examination revealed, that the girl was really sleeping. Yuki had very little of medical knowledge, but she guessed the blonde was drugged; it didn't seem deadly, though, and she wasn't going to tell the owner – as he said, the suspicious guy was a stranger, so it didn't take to be a genius to guess which pirate crew was at fault.

She asked the owner for some cold water and all she could think of, and proceeded to wake the girl up. After what seemed like eternity, and actually lasted fifteen minutes, Susie woken up and blinked sleepily, asking where she is and clearly not remembering a thing of her mysterious encounter with a stranger.

Much to Yuki's surprise, the bar owner was so happy he almost made her order something on the house by force. Not that she really minded; a cup of coffee and free meal was always welcome, even more so when she felt herself hungry. A gratitude shining in the eyes of the owner, who introduced himself as Uncle Jim, and the happy rambling of Susie seemed to ease Yuki's grief.

She just sat there, pretending to listen with a smile, and thought of her nightmares. Now it made a kind of sense. Yuki found it impossible, that her past self could be completely evil. But, remembering that painful _dance_ she was forced to in her darkest dreams, could it be that she was somehow made to be an assassin? And what's with that Devil Fruit? Right now, she didn't feel herself any different. Maybe the reason for it was that she couldn't even remember having such power?

All in all, she spent around two hours sitting in the reassuring coffee shop, before she decided she was exhausted from all that had happened through day and retired to her quarters, after being cheerfully invited to come as often as she wants to Uncle Jim's. When she finally made it back to her room, Yuki already cursed herself for picking a place which was so far from the town's center She really was tired. Her boots slipped quietly on the floor, as she curled herself in a ball on the bed, wondering just how many times her nightmares would wake her up tonight, when there were no familiar faces to keep her safe. Yet, she fallen asleep quickly, slipping into the familiar world of her fears.

…

Trafalgar Law frowned. He was laying in his rented room, in his rented bed, and felt better than he had in ages. The reason of his frowning, though, was exactly that.

He was comfortable and warm, which was strange. Even though that comfort he could simply explain by finally being able to sleep on land, he was sure that thin blanket could not ensure the level of warmth he was currently experiencing.

Even more things added to his mental turmoil. He didn't really want to wake up, nor did he bother to open his eyes, yet Law couldn't help but wonder.

First: why was only his front feeling so nice and warm?

Second: Why he could feel a definitely alien weight on his left shoulder?

Third: Why were his arms unconsciously pressing that strange warmth closer to his chest?

Just then and there, the one and only possibility struck Trafalgar Law's sleepy mind, and he sharply opened his eyes, his view completely obscured by something black. As pirate's senses began to wake up along with their owner, who was currently thanking any divine being that was close enough to hear him for the hair blocking his view not being blonde, Law found his nose filled with strange yet pleasant smell he couldn't quite describe.

It wasn't the only data he managed to get.

He laid on a small bed, on his left side, completely dressed. His head rested on a pillow, and on his left shoulder laid another head, strangely familiar on top of that. Both his arms were wrapped around the fragile frame of pale Yukionna, left hugging her closer, and right circled around her waist. Said girl, who mysteriously happened to be in the same bed as he was, still slept soundly – her breathing was even, her pale, delicate fingers twisted themselves in the fabric of Law's hoodie. She, too, apparently was trying to snuggle closer to him.

Law closed his eyes and frowned. What the fuck had happened? His first guess contained massive amount of an alcohol, yet that was not possible – he remembered his actions last night well, as well as he could not smell anything from Yuki. What could in really be?

Last night, he went inside the inn. It was still open, but he didn't bother to drink, he just wanted to sleep. He went up the stairs, not even having the strength to turn the lights on, went into the first room on the right, and went straight to bed.

Trafalgar Law groaned, mentally slapping himself. That was it, holy fuck! His room was the second one!

He slapped himself yet again, when he realized he groaned out loud, and was currently stared at by a pair of sleepy and curious emerald eyes. Well, he thought, it wouldn't get worse now, would it...

"Morning, Yuki-ya. Would you mind joining my crew for a little bit?"


	6. Chapter 6

Three days had passed since they left the small island of Abhean. Three days since their Captain came back from his trip, with suspiciously hand-shaped, red mark on his right cheek and madly blushing Yukionna, pacing obediently behind him.

The crew rejoiced. It wasn't that they didn't expect anything, but to officially know the girl is going to be their nakama was some really nice news.

Of course, all kind of problems resurfaced just as soon. For example, all the crew slept in one, big room at the very bottom of the submarine. Naturally, that didn't apply to Bepo, Shachi, Penguin and Law. As the officer trio and a captain they had those privilege of having their own rooms. But Yuki wasn't an officer. She just joined, so, despite proving herself to be anything but random, she still needed time to gain her rank. Anyway, she simply refused abandoning her room, so guys dropped it, afraid of joining their Captain in experiencing female's wrath.

Just after she had sworn the loyalty to the stoic doctor, whom from now on were to be her Captain, Yuki was plainly asked to go to his quarters for a talk. Law sensed something was off with pale Yukionna; he considered she would be more than happy to join them, and she seemed to; or at least tried. But she was not very good at acting.

Law wasn't stupid. He sometimes pretended to be mad, but that was another thing. And he also wasn't a kind that would leave his nakama when they needed him. The grief and anxiousness he sensed from his newest subordinate were enough to put him on alarm mode.

As soon as the two were left alone, Law sat on his favorite rolling chair and stared calculatingly at the girl standing in front of him. He decided to make a wild guess. "So, what did you find about yourself that makes you so uneasy, Yuki-ya?"

Girl's eyes widened slightly. Law smirked. Jackpot.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't so hard to guess that one." he rolled his eyes. Yuki kept silent for few seconds, then decided it would be best to just show him. She took the stolen wanted poster from her pocket and gave it to Law, who studied the paper quietly, an eyebrow arching in interest.

"Well, well, well, isn't that curious... That's some bounty to behold, and you're user, too..." he murmured, putting the poster on his deck. He couldn't help the smirk. Of course, he heard of Emerald Killer, but didn't have the pleasure to see her photo before. Right now he was seriously glad that he kept the girl with him; such a person would certainly prove herself useful. If only he could restore her memories somehow, and make her remember how to use her power...

His eyes met Yuki's, and with that, Law was abruptly torn away from his musings. Damn that poster and his oversensitive nakama. Law sighed. "Listen well, Yuki-ya. I'll say this once and once only. We are fucking pirates. Murder, theft, plunder, all kinds of cruelty are not only allowed; many admires those who restores to such means. And I personally don't care who were you before and what have you done; even more so when you can't remember that yourself. As long as you remain loyal to me, I'll treat you as my nakama. So don't give me that gloomy look anymore, understood?"

Yuki smiled with relief and nodded eagerly. "I won't betray you, Captain."

Law returned her smile, glad that she finally started to get it. "Good. And even more so you remembered how to talk; I was afraid you turned mute again."

"Oh, no, of course not. I just didn't want to interrupt; you were making all kinds of funny faces, trying to avoid talking with the right half of your face." She said, making a run for it before Law had a chance to kick her out of his quarters for continuous insolence.

…

The rest of those three days Yuki spent getting used to belonging somewhere. After their return, all of the crew were busy preparing to leave Abhean, so her official welcome party needed to wait. Actually, they decided to wait with it 'till Sabaody, the place being their greatest achievement since the foundation of Heart Pirates, and so, celebrating two things in one.

Yuki's mornings started with a cleaning duty, which she loathed. The crampy submarine suddenly became so freakishly huge, and they needed to make it spotless. Yet she decided not to complain; she was no longer a patient, nor a guest, and so, were bound to do her work. Plus, she soon found out that even cleaning could be nice, if she did it quietly, inventing more and more creative and quite spectacular ways of killing certain Trafalgar Law and using his dead body as a cleaning rug. The Captain was so damn lazy!

Next came kitchen shift, and some peeling, helping the cook and listening to albino's apologizing Why does Bepo even get kitchen shafts was a question beyond her. He was a bear, for god's sake! He didn't even have thumbs!

The madness continued, for three days straight, and after that time, she needed some time for herself. Nice thing they actually resurfaced. She sat on the railing, viewing the sight of her third sunset since becoming a Heart.

Cleaning shifts, kitchen shifts, piloting. Wait, no, piloting the yellow submarine wasn't half bad. No table manners during the meals; when she actually has time to think of it now, no manners whatsoever. A bunch of not very good smelling males, locked together in a can that could get painfully hot, were they too long under the sea level. Annoyingly hyper Shachi. Overly emotional Bepo. Ever poker-faced Penguin. Snoring, throwing dirty jokes every now and then, loud guys, all of them. And of course, that lazy, bipolar, sadistic psychopath not to mention pervert she had as a Captain.

Yuki smiled and closed her eyes, her pale skin catching the last few glimpses of dying sun. Soon, she stood up and went back, inside her home. After spending three days as a Heart Pirate, she decided she couldn't have chosen any better.

…

This night, her nightmares returned.

…

The same thing, the same scene. Again, again, again.

They just won't leave, those dreams, she helplessly thought, when she seen what she was already used to see.

_The small girl she knew was her. The paintings. Dancing. Pain. Escape._

_Blood, blood, blood._

But the nightmares won't just end, as usual.

Another vision emerged from her broken mind.

_Girl. Little, raven girl, curled into a ball in the corner of some dark room made of steel and concrete. Her hair a mess, her clothes ripped and stained, her body the mosaic of violet, green and yellow from all the bruises._

_Her eyes dead._

Another picture.

_Girl laying on the unforgiving concrete, like a broken doll. Two tall figures above, yet she didn't dare to peek. She didn't even had the strength to do so._

_She was dead, dead._

_And as the violent beating came, one after another, she won't even flinch._

_An empty shell doesn't feel any pain; and she was nothing more._

Visions blurred, one after another abusing her deepest nightmares.

_Kicks, punches, cruel words._

_Hunger. Hunger able to wake her from that state of inner death, able to overcome all fears._

_Sneaking outside the room she was kept in._

_Limping around unfamiliar cabins._

_An ache of broken body, screaming with every step._

_Lunatic state driven by primitive instincts._

_A smell of food._

_A case with something edible._

_Eating. Eating. Living._

_A feeling as if she swallowed needles, overwhelmed by another one, of pure bliss for no longer being so hungry._

_Black._

_Waking up to furious screaming._

_Beating, beating, beating._

Another vision, clear as a day.

_Door opening. She didn't bother to look; with her face laying in the puddle of her own blood, she wouldn't see much._

_Laughter._

_Some words she didn't understand._

_Two arms, two rough hands picking her up and making her face the visitor._

_Grin. Cruel grin that caused all her misery._

_"I'll make you stronger, and you'll be my tool. I'll let you have a deal with me. A life for a life; you take, you receive. What would you say?"_

_Big, clean, manicured hand. Only in her eyes was it stained with blood._

_Whisper from her chapped lips. "I want a proof."_

_Laughter. Shaking all of her broken arm, making her hiss in pain as fragmented bone rubbed inside against her flesh._

_"Emeralds..."_

…

Her eyes shot open; so wide it was almost possible to see all of her eyeballs. She didn't scream; screams are for humans.

What escaped her lips was a piercing howl of dying, deadly wounded animal.

…

Law found himself running to his Yukionna's cabin before he was actually awake enough to consider the fact. It was just a pure instinct; he heard her scream, so he rushed to her side. He would do the same for Penguin, or Shachi, or Bepo, or any other.

That didn't fully explained the fact why was he currently standing in her room, wearing just his long, black pyjama pants with white spots. Bepo somehow managed to get there before him, and was currently trying to calm the terrified Yuki down. Putting it simply – it was not working.

Law frowned, worried expression crept it's way on his face. He waved the bear away to ease the rest of the crew and put them back to sleep, and examined the girl laying on the bed, expression of horror on her face, lips slightly parted, silhouette twisted, panting, clearly hyperventilating.

And the worst sight were her eyes. Wide, and looking as those of the dead. Glassy pools of dark liquid, without even a dash of light inside.

He checked her pulse. Quick. Too damn quick. Much more of this, and girls' heart would've problems coping with the tempo.

He needed to do something.

Law's tattooed hands covered Yuki's, and untangled them from her raven hair. He straightened her tense body, tucking it under discarded earlier blankets, making her head comfortable on the pillow again. He closed her eyes and opened them. Slight reaction for light. Nothing much.

Girl's pulse slowed down. A bit.

Law bit his lip. She was much further than he thought. His hands found her palms again, stroking gently, massaging, trying to soothe her through simple contact. Again, her pulse seemed to slow down under his careful fingertips. Just a little bit more. She's calming down.

His fingers moved to her temples, and Law didn't even know when he started talking quietly, calling the name he gave her, calling her back. Fifteen minutes passed, and the spell broken. Much to his hidden relief.

It started with single tear on girls' cheek, and soon enough, she was sobbing violently, clutching the pillow to her face. Law decided it would help if he hugged her, for medical reasons of course, and right now he just stilled with his arms encircling her gently and, well, quite awkwardly.

The sobbing eventually died away as well, and when he removed the wet pillow from Yuki's face, the girl was already sleeping, tired and scared expression on her face. He sighed. At last.

Law proceeded to stand up, check on his crew and get some well deserved sleep, but something stopped him in his way. It was a pale hand with long, delicate fingers, clutched tightly around his wrist.

"No." he said, looking suspiciously at the Yukionna. "I said no; last time I needed three hours to remove the swelling. I am not going to fall asleep anywhere near you again."

The hand didn't even budge.

Law sighed, and called quietly for Bepo. Just as he expected, the worried bear was behind the door.

"She's asleep now; don't worry. More importantly, Bepo, I've got a task that only you are able to take. Listen. You'll now go out of that room, lock the door behind you, and guard it until I leave, understood? And I beg you, don't let anybody know I'm inside..."


	7. Chapter 7

Morning once more greeted a pair of tired, emerald eyes. And they were once more fixed on a certain intruder in her bed.

But, this time, when she woke up as the first and was able to actually think her actions through, Yuki wasn't going to slap/punch/kick him in the face and throw him off of the bed and out of the room. No.

This time, first thing that came across her mind was memory of what had happened yesterday. She would never confess how glad she was that stoic doctor hadn't left.

Law was, strangely, so peaceful, so human. He was hugging her close, again, she guessed subconsciously, his right hand around her waist, left tangled in her hair. Yet this time, during her sleep, Yuki's body answered, and now her pale arms encircled his back, her face hidden in the crook of surgeon's neck.

It was ridiculous how safe she felt. Nightmares, blood and immense pain were nothing but some blurry images far away, when she just laid there, listening to his quiet, even breathing.

Law was shirtless this time. It was the first thing she discovered after waking up to see him in her bed. Yuki needed to seriously fight the urge to get up and count his tattoos. The thought kept bugging her mind, but it was postponed by simple fact that she was not able to move; every and each muscle in her body burned; Yuki was so sore she could hardly even breathe without grimacing. So, for now, she retreated to just simply looking at Law, in some kind of fascination she herself called sick, checking now and then if he's still sleeping, trying to define the smell of raven male.

_Cinnamon_ _... something sharp, like steel, if that makes any sense at all... something chemical; medicine, perhaps... and something warm..._

She couldn't really grasp it. Law smelled like Law.

Yuki couldn't believe it was the same person she used to tease and make fun of, and vice versa. She couldn't see his face, but she imagined how peaceful his expression must be. Yuki could feel his breath in her hair, and his goatee tickled her forehead. She never really thought of it, but now, when she could take her time, (waiting for the male to wake up, as she couldn't really move on her own, of course...) but Law was handsome. It came as a bit of shock to her senses. His skin was caramel, and very soft and warm. His arms were delicate yet strong.

But, he still was a psychopath, a sadist and lazy egoist, she corrected herself.

Finally, something stirred above her head, and to Yuki's amusement, she heard a quiet curse, followed by a groan. Strangely enough, doctor didn't try to wake her up or escape. He pushed her a little back, as if to see Yuki's face, but kept his hands where they were. She opened her eyes and looked up, certainly not expecting a pillow being thrust in her face.

"Alright, just before you do anything again, let me say that whatever situation we may currently be in, it means absolutely _nothing_ and is completely _your_ fault. So do me a favor, refrain from violence and screaming the likes of 'pervert', alright? I don't want my crew to lose faith in their Captain."

…

The rest of the day, after the doctor nicely and without beating left her room, Yuki spent trying to make her body work despite being sore, and avoiding Law. She was sure that as soon as they would meet alone, he would like to hear all about her nightmares, and that really was something she would rather not talk about. Or think.

Well, all she needed to do was to prevent the source of her potential problems; namely to prevent Law from catching her face to face. It was really simple, though. All Yuki had to do was work; certain lazy ass of a doctor wouldn't even show up that way.

She really needed to think some things through. On her own. Some thoughts and experiences were too much of a burden to let anybody dear to her share the pain. And, as much as she tried to deny it, all of the yellow submarine in general became so very special. What she didn't want to reveal even more was that despite being such a stupid bastard, certain Trafalgar Law was by far the one she found the most important.

…

She sat on the railing. Again.

It was long after the sunset, but Yuki really couldn't bring herself to go back inside. Going back meant going to sleep, and going to sleep meant too many bad things. She sighed and covered herself tighter in the blanket; the night was cold, and thick fabric offered some comfort she right now really needed.

She didn't realize just when she started to sing quietly, finally aware of painful meaning of _that_ song.

_One sails the seas of life and beliefs,_

_The storms will lead you home._

_These open roads will call you with the promise:_

_You'll walk the Earth alone..._

Yuki looked somewhere in general direction of the horizon, and sighed heavily. She didn't know why, but somehow, every time she started to feel herself safe on the submarine, something happened and she was back inside that darkness, enveloping her, suffocating her.

A voice called her back from her musings, and it was so unexpected she actually jumped in surprise. It was quiet, lyric, you could say. And lyric was what it said.

_I live in a dream._

_With open eyes, I breathe again._

_I see all your fears:_

_together we can feel,_

_we can heal,_

_and take the road less traveled on_

_to here, in the new_

_like diamonds we will shine,_

_we will rise_

_two hearts when souls are free again,_

_we live._

Yuki didn't move; she didn't even budge when the song was declaimed.

"Why you never sing the rest of the song? I was curious what melody has that last part, you know..." Law said, settling himself beside and handing her a bottle, just like not so long ago.

Yuki turned her head to see his profile better. "Where did you find that... no, wait, stupid question. Abhean's library?"

"Yup. Charming seventeen volumes about folk songs of Grand Line. Good thing it was divided considering the islands climate, otherwise I'd spend hours searching for that one. And you didn't answer."

"..." Yuki looked away. Law had no idea. He had no idea what it meant for her to hear the rest of that song. _Especially_ what it meant to hear it from him. "Further this song is no longer mine," she said, her voice a whisper. "Only the first part speaks about me; I have no right to sing the rest of it."

Law turned his lazy smirk at her. "How stupid. Like that matters whether you sing all of it or just that fragment."

"It does matter, Captain. And, mind you, what you told me wasn't all of the song." she said, sipping what appeared to be strong rum. It helped.

"Well, whatever. Give me your blanket."

"..."

"What? It's cold."

"I ain't giving you my blanket; even less so sharing it. Go find your own."

"Miss, I remind you I am your captain, and this is an order."

"Being a captain does not mean you can take my blanket, when it's absolutely your fault you're freezing your ass off on the railing."

Law furrowed, and made a scene of sighing. Then, he smirked mischievously, enough at least to make Yuki shiver, and whispered; "Room!"

Let's just say that the air beside Yuki's body suddenly exchanged places with _someone_ , and leave the rest to your imagination.

"..."

"Now, see? Nice and warm."

"Getthefuckoutofhere."

"Nope. Don't wanna."

"..."

"Oh, come on, stop sulking. Here, I'm giving you my hat for a while. Happy?"

"..."

"...is something bothering you, Yuki-ya?" Law looked at her innocently, his freed raven hair dancing in the breeze.

"Yes, actually yes. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Actually, cheering you up. Not working?"

Law: 1, Yuki: 0 (AND speechless)

Law sighed, his expression changing into one more serious. "You know, kidding aside, I do care for you guys. It's not like you're my experiment subjects or anything. Well, at least most of the time. We've got a long way ahead of us; I'd like the crew to trust each other, and myself."

Yuki closed her eyes, letting her body rest against the doctor's. He just won't get it. "I do trust you, Law. I just... I really..."

"...don't want to talk about that? Burden me?" he finished, amused grin ruining the soothing effect of his words. "How sweet..."

"Oh, shut the fuck up."

"Language, Yuki-ya."

If just looking at somebody could kill, Law would at the moment be nothing but a sorry pile of ash. A very small, sorry pile of ash.

"But if that's the case," continued the doctor, unaffected by Yuki's glare, "then just trust me not to ask. You seriously doesn't need to avoid me all day just because you don't want me to ask you about those... nightmares you had, I guess."

"So, you are trying to say you were lonely without me?"

"You wish, Yuki-ya. I was just bored."

"Fuck off."

"Language."

That earned Law a one good aimed elbow in his gut.

"...attacking the captain, are we, Yuki-ya?" despite gritted teeth, Law apparently still was able to tease.

"Hell yeah. You deserved that elbow to went much lower, so be thankful I'm in forgiving mood today."

Law: speechless and... well, let's say protective, Yuki: 1

The Surgeon of Death and the Emerald Killer quieted down, Yuki with little, and Law with lopsided, though still slightly alarmed smile on face. The silence was nice and comforting. It wasn't meant to last long, though.

"Law...?"

"Mmm?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"Don't mention it."

"Can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but ask anyway."

"Can you make me a tattoo?"

Law halted a second, girl's request clearly not what he thought it would be. "Sure... but why?"

Yuki tensed slightly. "I want my name, the name I received here. And your... _our_ Jolly Roger. Preferably on my hands, just like the tattoos you have."

"No problem. But you won't be able to use your hands afterwards for, let's say, a day, consider that."

"I don't care. I don't want to... _forget_ this life. I don't want to lose something like this... ever again."

Law looked at the Yukionna, and swiftly turned her so she was now laying in his arms. She felt so fragile, like a dream against his tanned body. "Yeah, forget. Like I'd let you. Have you ever tried to look around yourself, egoistic girl?" Yuki looked up at his face, quite surprised by that sudden outburst.

"Do you even know how's your name's written, Yuki-ya?"

"...like 'snow'? But what does it matter?"

"Wrong. You seriously think we would ever let you go? Or let you forget about us? Look at Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, the rest of the guys, hell, look at me. You made all of us happy, not even being our nakama for a week. Showing you around, joking with you, teaching you, talking with you, even patching you up. You, you, you. All the time. But you keep being so anxious, so withdrawn, as if not seeing all this. Can't you let it go for once? Can't you just let us accept you already?"

Law closed his eyes, letting those words sink in her mind.

"The kanji for your name, Yuki-ya... it's 'happiness'."


	8. Chapter 8

The very first bubble they saw was certainly a beautiful sight to behold. Perfectly round and gigantic, painted in all the colours of rainbow.

Yuki stood in a cramped pilot cabin. Lately she spent a lot of time there, piloting with Shachi; they divided the duties, and therefore both had much more of free time for talking, joking or whatever. Yuki usually observed the sea surface with the periscope, now and then telling Shachi to change directions or to be careful of some obstacles on the way. A tiny room, with all of the front walls made of glass to observe underwater currents, filled with big, red pilot chair and all kinds of machinery, including the periscope - the girl found that cabin somewhat charming and soothing. Especially, when the chair was filled with her friend's unmistakable, hyper presence.

"See anything interesting, Yuki-chan?" asked said male, glancing at her warmly. She had been quiet for some time. Not that Yuki he knew was a talkative person from the start, no. Ginger was well aware how much his friend needed silence to function, which very much complimented his own personality.

"...sorry, I kind of mused away. No, nothing special; well, we're nearing Sabaody, but I can't see anything beside the Archipelago coming closer and closer. And the bubbles." she said, letting the periscope go and sitting with quiet sigh. They were proceeding slowly, not resurfacing till the very end, as their Captain ordered. It required quite a skill, for damn groves created all kinds of currents, and therefore made it particularly hard for the submarine to navigate. All of the engines were shut off, and Yuki knew that with the steering wheel in hands of Shachi they have nothing to fear of, but such a way of nearing the Archipelago was so long and boring it driven her crazy.

Shachi didn't answered, and she didn't want to bother him.

Quite much has happened lately; on the other hand, nothing happened at all. Yuki found herself much more relaxed and open now, after the talk she had with her Captain. The Captain she discovered was constantly somewhere on the back of her mind since that time, and Yuki found it really annoying. Anyway, next day after their little encounter, the girl moaned and bugged Law long enough for him to make her 'those goddamn tattoos' as he stated, and received two beautiful pieces of art on her palms, plus, also promised, one day worth of pain from oversensitive skin.

Her naturally pale skin created quite good looking contrast for simple black signs; on her right hand, it was a kanji for 'happiness' on her palm, and little, elegantly written word "Yuki" on her wrist. On her left, for a change, it was a smiley known as the Heart Pirates' jolly roger. She also asked Law to made a twin wrist-tattoo on her left hand, but with his own name, and, what surprised her, he complied that plea. Not without teasing, of course.

Another thing that changed but remained the same were her nightmares. After such a blow that night, she had, again, three days of peaceful nights, even without sleeping pills Law offered her. But then, they came back; and Yuki seriously didn't know if they were nightmares or not. She had just this one, monotone dream, over and over again. She was in a very quiet place; somehow, it reminded her of a desert. Yes, there were sand everywhere, but it was white, not gold; also, the sky was strange. It didn't have sun; nor was it clear and blue. On the contrary – despite lack of clouds, that sky from the dream was dimmed and gray. The exactly same landscape, every time. And every time there would be a blurry silhouette sometimes sitting, sometimes standing, not doing anything despite looking at her. Expectantly.

The strange person whose face Yuki couldn't see; just a dark figure, really. It wouldn't talk, wouldn't move. Just look. And it was all.

It's been a week already since those dreams started. She hadn't told Law. Now, they were finally, finally nearing the half-mark of Grand Line, the Sabaody Archipelago; why spoil the atmosphere? And it wasn't like she was haunted or anything. Besides, the reality was more annoying than some unruly visions. Like nearing the groves, for example. With the speed of a turtle with broken limbs.

Having nobody else to talk to, Yuki took the pipe from the hook on the wall and whistled through it loudly and with confidence. Her personal Mad Hatter grinned. It required two days and whole crew's efforts to teach her how to whistle, but their work was well done, apparently. A sleepy voice answered from the pipe, and Yuki furrowed comically. Why the hell was he always either napping or eating when she had piloting duties was beyond her.

"...what?" his words were more of a yawn than proper talk.

"Bored." Yuki stated, winking at the now giggling Shachi. It wasn't often when she decided to annoy her Captain, but every time she did, both Mad Hatter and herself ended up on the floor of the cabin, laughing their heads off. Well, almost every time. When Law was in particularly bad mood he just used his Devil Fruit ability to transport teasing Yukionna directly to his room and make a rant of how she's acting immature and all. In those cases, she would snort, retorting with simple 'Look who's saying...' and sometimes comment his looks three minutes after waking up, calling him 'cute'.

Only once had it not worked, and she ended up being reduced to a jigsaw, with elements for crew to find all over the submarine. Yuki, after, of course, they had finally found her mouth, commented on it as an argument for Law having absolutely no sense of humor. Quite ironically, said doctor was at the moment laying near her almost completed head, trying to stop his third laugh attack.

Needless to say, Yuki loved those pipe-talks.

"...perfectly sound report, Yuki-ya. Go make some coffee if I may suggest something." and with that, the talk ended. Yuki looked at Shachi with her eyebrows raised.

"What's with him today? It's third talk he hangs up on me already."

"Hell if I know. But don't worry; maybe it's just the island-sickness. You know how he get's just before we reach land; plans to make, data to gather..." said Shachi absentmindedly. Yuki sighed and reached for the periscope again.

…

Another two hours passed till they docked by the grove 22. All the crew was getting ready; changing their uniforms into fresh ones, checking their weapons or dusting their hats. Yuki decided to wear black, tight jeans and bright, plain yellow T-shirt. She wouldn't let anyone see her in this baggy uniform ever again.

Law just smirked when he saw her. He was in his usual clothes; spotted jeans, yellow-black hoodie, fuzzy hat. Golden earring were only innovation.

"Trying to look like me?" he teased at her choose of colours while walking past Yuki. Of course she couldn't let it be.

"You mean like a junkie with insomnia? Nope sir."

"Why, thank you. You're flattering me, as ever, Yuki-ya." He walked to the front cabin, and went out as soon as they fully resurfaced. With now full grin on face, their Captain put his Nodachi swiftly on his shoulder and turned to them, ready to give orders.

"Listen, men! ...and woman, of course. We're finally halfway there. Behind the wall known as Red Line lays our last, final destination: Raftel! Raftel, the legendary island; and with it, One Piece and our respective throne, waiting patiently. We will make it, I know we will.

We're now on the Sabaody Archipelago. Grove 22 is supposed to lay in the lawless zone, so please, be careful and stay within. You're already divided into three groups; that's good. First and second, decide. One of you goes for supplies and all, another stays to guard the ship. Then, exchange. Please, don't cause too much havoc; we're dead close to Navy HQ, and I don't want any problems. Third one, search for the coating guy; try for him to be good; we've got enough gold to pay. I want the ship to be coated as soon as possible."

A choir of "Aye, aye, Captain!" followed, and three groups of few guys proceeded to their respective duties. Yet Law wasn't finished. "Bepo, Shachi, Penguin... Yuki-ya. You guys go with me." he said, jumping off of the submarine and gracefully landing on bubbles-producing grove.

"Aye, Captain." said Yuki, jumping as well. "Where to?"

Law smirked and thrust a newspaper in her hands. It's title said: 'Eleven Supernovas'. It didn't take Yuki long to comprehend her Captain's plan. "Sightseeing."

Now, she smirked as well, "Sure."

…

At first, they didn't know where really to go. Law wanted to see some of his rivals, and they damn sure were somewhere in lawless zone, but...

They made it to grove 21 before they heard a havoc.

A huge man, like, a really, really huge man with wide grin and little wings swung a large piece of metal as if it weight nothing. He tried to hit a really fast, almost fragile looking figure, dressed in spotted shirt, trousers and stripped helmet, with long blond hair sticking from under the thing. Smaller guy, as it was most probably a guy, had two rotating blades attached to his wrists, and was currently giving quite a show of his gymnastic skills.

"Now, that's interesting..." said Law, making himself comfortable on one of the wooden boxes laying around. Yuki and the rest stood just behind him, observing as well. "I guess it would be 'Mad Monk' Urouge and 'Massacre Soldier' Killer. What do you think, Yuki-ya? Which one would win?"

Yuki looked calculatingly at the two fighting. "Killer is that flexible one, right? I'd say him. The mountain man got the strength, but it's nothing if he can't hit the opponent."

"You've got a point. But, consider this. Mr. Urouge needs only one good hit to smash Mr. Killer."

"He won't have it then. I bet Killer knows that just as well, and he won't let himself to make a mistake."

"Shall we make a bet then?"

Yuki smirked, sure of her win. "If Killer-guy wins, you'll have to do my cleaning duties. For a week."

Law looked pale for a moment, but nodded and smirked as well. "And if Mr. Urouge wins, you'd clean up _my_ room."

Five more minutes, and the bet was sadly ceased, as an appearance of another person spoiled whole fun. The guy dressed in black, with ginger hair, old fashioned mask on his eyes and strange hat, identified by Heart's Captain as the 'Red Flag' X Drake.

He stopped two fighting guys, and left just afterwards. Law lazily observed former rear admiral go past him, greeting him with relaxed: "And I was having such a nice time... Drake... How many people did you kill?"

…

"Shachi..."

"What?"

"Where are we going again?"

It was quite a bit later. Law decided he had enough of Supernova sightseeing, and proceeded to just purposelessly walk. Their first stop after 21 was Sabaody Park. They spent there quite some time, although the only attraction Law agreed to get on himself was roller coaster, and they needed to go out of the park just after the ride. Who'd had thought that Law had a locomotive disease?

Then, they went to tourists zone, found nothing of importance, and proceeded to the groves of number less than 10.

"Dunno. But I heard there's something fun going on on grove 1." answered Mad Hatter.

"What do you mean 'fun'? Like..." Yuki was suddenly halted, when her Captain's arm caught her waist and yanked her down so she was on her knees. At the same time, Law's hat was thrust on her head, obscuring her view and almost completely hiding her face.

"Wha-"

"Shut up." came a whisper. Suddenly, Yuki spotted that all of the crowd was kneeling, looking down. "It's the Tenryuubito." Law continued, motioning Bepo to face the other way and Penguin and Shachi to try and hide him behind their backs. "Look down, hunch your back; don't let them see you're a woman, and at any cost don't let them see how beautiful you are. Bepo, easy. They won't spot you."

Yuki blessed her hunched position; the Captain wouldn't see her blush. Since when did she start to turn red every time Law complimented her? Those thoughts were quickly withered from her head, though, when from under the rim of her Captain's hat she saw the scene ahead.

A group of people was going trough a path silently made by a kneeling crowd. All of those people were wearing chains and collars, apart from few, dressed in suits and dark glasses, and two strange people, old man and young woman, with bubbles on their heads. The chained people looked so tormented and sad Yuki felt nausea; they reminded her of broken animals... Or herself from those nightmares. People whose life was so sorrowful that they let their minds die. She shivered.

Suddenly, the group halted. They were now standing quite near them, and Yuki heard Law cursed; his hand, which actually never left her waist, tightening it's hold. Soon, she found exactly why the Captain ordered her not to show herself.

"Hm... Yes. That girl looks quite pretty. I shall make you my fifteenth wife." said the old man to some quite shy looking girl on Yuki's right. She wouldn't give her more than 17 years old.

As the suit-clad people from the crowd caught and pulled the crying girl in the direction of docks, Yuki felt her blood boil. How could they? Why? Suddenly, another women stood up and ran after them, screaming.

"I beg you, leave her alone! She's my only child, please, let her go! Take me instea-"

What halted the woman was gunshot. Yuki's eyes widened, and before she knew it she already started to rise, feeling the need to punish those bastards. What she didn't predict was that her Captain was well aware of her actions, and quickly pulled her back, not letting her move.

"Don't..." he whispered in her ear. "They would just kill you or take you with them."

…

When they finally reached the 'interesting thing' in grove 1, Yuki regained her composure. She overreacted; that was true. Much more because, well, right now she knew they were going on a human auction.

Law made sure all of them were alright, and stepped inside the auction house, making himself comfortable on one of the chairs in the back. Bepo and Penguin sat on his left side, Shachi and Yuki on his right. The Captain looked at Yuki from under his hat with well-known, calculating stare.

"...don't worry, I'm alright." she answered the silent question. "I just didn't expect this."

People started to gather. Soon, there were a pretty crowd inside, and Yuki heard someone clearly talking of their quintet behind their backs.

"...that's the guy from North Blue..."

Law nodded at her, motioning Yuki to look. She spotted the gossiper almost immediately – he was quite an eccentric figure. Tall, pale, with fiery red hair and goggles, dressed like a goth. He was accompanied by that Killer-guy she remembered from before and two other, creepy looking individuals.

Law winked at her again and quite literally showed the other what he thinks of him. Yuki needed to stifle a giggle. Then, all of them fell quiet. The auction was going to begin soon...

…

"Man, you're overdoing this, Captain..."

Yuki's jaw almost dropped to ground. After the Strawhat crew went inside auction house and caused one hell of a havoc, she thought nothing is gonna surprise her today. God, was she ever wrong...

When said crew turned the auction house into a battlefield, starting from another Supernova, Strawhat Luffy, who hit the Tenryuubito (not that Yuki personally minded that one), her own Captain insisted they stay and watch. Well, a fun it was. And then, another person made his appearance; Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King. Yuki didn't really know what's the deal, but Shachi explained it to her quick and simple, at the same time trying to calm himself down; he claimed he nearly fainted. After all this, girl found out the auction house is not only almost empty, but also surrounded by marines, and that redhead from earlier who happened to be Eustass 'Captain' Kidd offered he'd take care of this. Needless to say, Law couldn't wait to teach the bastard a lesson or two about taking others lightly.

Which in any case _didn't_ explain why was she looking at sorry pile of weapons, trash, rumbles, earth, marines and _parts_ of marines. Damn. She knew Law was strong, but there should be a limit of how much you do to show off.

Soon, there wasn't time to think about that. Another wave of marines came, and she needed to fight along with Bepo and guys. This time, her weapons were two wakizashi, but she felt they were both too short and too heavy at the same time. Just what kind of a weapon was she using and can't remember?

From behind her, she could easily hear Law, freeing the huge slave guy they've seen earlier, and asking him to join. Good, she thought. That meant she won't be so new anymore. Thanks to that _addition_ , suddenly there was an open path in front of her, and the crew managed to escape.

"To the 22!" she heard Law's shouted order. "I don't care if the coating isn't completed, we're not waiting here for the admiral! Bepo, hurry up!"

As soon as they made it trough one of the bridges between grove's roots, Jean Bart, their newest crewmember smashed the bridge; that certainly was a good idea. To get to their ship, crew needed time; and all those little fights belated them. Bepo, on the other hand, wasn't pleased.

"You're the new guy, so you're under me, got it?"

"As long as I'm not a slave..." Jean Bart didn't seem to care for those matters.

"Captain, that-" Shachi, who was running as the first along with Yuki, halted suddenly and pointed at the blurred by smoke, huge figure. Law and the rest of the crew stopped as well, and the Captain narrowed his eyes.

"It's Eustass-ya, and... Wait, that's... What the hell is a Shichibukai doing here?!"

Yuki looked at the scene unraveling before her eyes. On the little clearing between groves stood the crew of Eustass Kidd. He himself was gathering all kind of junk with what she considered his Devil Fruit power, and made two huge arms out of it. Beside that, he seemed to be limping; Yuki could clearly see a burn mark on his trousers. In front of the crew stood one of the biggest and most creepy man she had ever seen. He was huge, wore white, spotted pants, black jacket with some symbol on the front, and strange hat with two bear's ears on it. For Yuki, he looked ridiculous and scary at the same time. The guy's turned to her Captain, and he spoke with robot-like voice. "Trafalgar Law."

"So, you know my name..."

The huge guy she knew was a Shichibukai opened his mouth; Yuki could see a laser starting to form, pointing at her Captain. At this very moment, the time stopped for everyone but her.

Yuki stood beside her immobilized body. The bright light coming out from the Shichibukai's head was directed precisely at Law. Her Captain was shocked, away, whatever. He didn't react when he should. The girl could see he already started to form his 'room', but she knew just as well that it's already to late. He won't be able to dodge.

Mental Yuki turned, feeling panic running trough her mind. _Do something!_ she shouted at her motionless shell of a body. _You can't let him die!_ The girl observed in horror as the laser started to slowly, but mercilessly grow, nearing her Captain; the same who rescued her, the same who gave her new life. She turned again to her body, and unsuccessfully tried to punch it into action. _Damn it! Move! Do something, I don't know, anything! You're supposed to be that super-strong Emerald Killer, right? Save him!_

Finally, finally she saw her body move, with the speed of a tortoise of course. But, before it did, she saw something else. She saw mad, toothy grin; wide eyes filled with a desire to kill; irises being pools of swirling, green fire.

_Hihihi...if you call~..._

…

At one second, all Law could see was his upcoming death. At the next; it was the sight of his Yukionna's back. What the... Damn! The girl wanted to sacrifice herself!

"Yuki! Stay back!"

"Yuki-chan!"

It was too late. The laser fired.

"...s _pectrum..."_


	9. Tainted's Christmas Special: The Case of Catchy Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Christmas Special I published with the original story on ff.net. Have fun reading it, even if Christmas is long gone already!

 

Yuki woke up and instantly regretted it the moment she actually regained her consciousness.

It. Was. So. Fucking. Cold.

She groaned, half stumbled, half fell from her bed and stood up in her freezing cabin, digging furiously for something warm to put on. Having completed this hunt, Yuki sprinted to their shared bathroom and took a hot shower. Or would have done that, if not for a note stuck to the door of her cabin.

_Merry Christmas, Yuki-chan!_

_Sorry for not waking you up. You were sleeping so soundly we didn't want to interrupt, and decorated the sub' on our own. Proud of us?_

_Be careful and remember of all the traditions! And don't get scared, ok?_

_Shachi & the crew._

The raven haired girl looked at the note, frowning lightly. The last part slightly put her off. What traditions was she supposed to remember? What not to be afraid of? It's fucking Christmas, for God's sake! It's supposed to be all merry, warm and happy, right? Presents, Christmas tree, feast, singing and hot rum, best wishes, Santa and mistletoe? Did she miss something? So why...

…

..

.

Oh.

Just to confirm her suspicions, Yuki veeeeery slowly opened her door and veeeery carefully took a peek outside. Her eyes needed few seconds to get used to all the garlands and colours adorning usually plain, metal walls, but even so, she momentarily spotted the thing she was looking for.

Hanging from the quite low ceiling was a merry garland of mistletoe.

And not only one; the freakin' plant was mostly on every inch of ceiling; it would require quite a flexibility and brain to make a route out of it... No, wait, that's not what she was supposed to be thinking.

The Heart Pirates. All male group with one exception. It was more than enough to prove her assumption as to _why_ was the offending plant everywhere.

"You guys seriously got to be kidding me..."

…

Two hours later, freshly showered, dressed, and very mad Yuki sat on her respective chair in the kitchen, legs on the table, brows furrowing at the pouting and guilty looking crew gathered in front of her. Shachi was the first to talk.

"I can't believe you managed to evade all of them..." he murmured and gulped, seeing a killing stare she sent in his direction. "What! It wasn't my idea!"

"Then whose?" Yuki asked, trying her best to sound angry, but, frankly, it wasn't the case at all. If anything, she was quite amused and proud of herself for avoiding any compromising situations up till now.

The crew, though, was certainly anxious by her question. Well, she should've guessed they wouldn't want to sell each other. Not that it really matters. "Alright, forget that, I'm not mad or anything. Can you just get those idiotic plants off, and we forget about the case?"

Penguin, the only person in room unfazed by all situation, shifted his weight slightly and looked at her from under his cap. "We can't really do that, you know. Not to mention mistletoe being a tradition, but those plants are... quite special."

"Special, meaning?" Yuki had a bad feeling about this...

"Well, let's just say we got our hands of quite an extraordinary plant. The seller swore they come from legendary 'Boin Archipelago'... Anyway, the thing's simple. When you walk under the 'catchy mistletoe', it produces a web that catches you. Guess what needs to be done to free a person imprisoned?"

Damn was she ever right. "Don't tell me... A kiss?"

Shachi grinned. "Yup! And, on the Christmas Eve, it withers on it's own; of course, unless there's still somebody caught. So, if you don't want to kiss us all, you need to cope with the plant for a while!"

Yuki sighed, and hidden her face in her hands. Three days... That certainly _would_ be tough.

…

It was the evening of Christmas Eve, and Yuki was stretching in her bed, a big, satisfied smile on her face. During last few days, she managed to slip her way trough duties on the submarine without getting caught even once. The guys from the crew were another problem. On the first day, just after she was enlightened about the nature of the plant, almost whole crew amazingly found themselves attacked by mistletoe, smiling expectantly at Yuki and making a disbelieving pout when she announced she is _not_ going to kiss them all. Bepo did, and the guys were mad at poor bear ever since. From time to time, somebody got caught even after this, but it was more likely an accident than anything else.

Additionally, when she actually got time to ponder about this, the mistletoe wasn't really everywhere. Nowhere near the kitchen, nor the baths; just in the places it won't disturb them so much, and never in some confined, dark places where the person won't be spotted easily. There were two exceptions from this rule: first was the ceiling in front of her own cabin. The second: in front of her Captain's.

Yuki needed to plan and foresee her every move; as well as preparing everything before she left her room, so she won't need to go back during the day. It required a flexibility and quite a bit of luck, but, all in all, worked. Law got his own, unfair method of avoiding his crew's little traps; all he needed to do was to create a room and leave the danger zone.

So long, both were winning. Up till now.

When Yuki finally got up and left, she was, once again, greeted by a sight of the whole crew. They looked disappointed, mostly because being surrounded by withering green plant. Christmas Eve was up, and the mistletoe was no longer needed. Which didn't explain just why were they currently blocking her corridor.

All the stares fell on Shachi, who was the closest one to her. He managed to smile nervously, apparently preparing for a roar. Which, quite surprisingly, never came.

"...see? I told you to do it later!" came a whisper from behind, and now Yuki spotted green box in the middle of the crew-created chaos. Could it be...

"Shut the fuck up!" hissed Shachi, and looked at Yuki with apologetic smile. "Um... Sorry, Yuki-chan, we kind of... Didn't pick the right moment, I guess..."

"Shachi..." Yuki interrupted him. "Is this box that you guys want to hide so badly for me, by any chance?"

The guys blushed. Even Bepo managed to, somehow creating a dash of rosy colour on his snow-white fur. "W-well... kind of?"

Yuki smiled, and chuckled lightly. She couldn't believe them, getting embarrassed so easily, but at the same time it was... oh, so nice. She looked at them, shaking her head and grinning, opening her door widely to let them in. The mysterious box was placed in her cabin, along with instruction to open it later, and now go for a feast. Yuki wouldn't let them leave like that, and gave everybody a much smaller, but just as beautiful box with presents. They decided not to open them for now as well. Only one box remained, and Yuki knew she would have to deliver it herself; Law's one.

"You guy's go. I'll join you in a minute; need to give that thing." she said, waving the present in the air. She had no idea if Law's gonna like it; she made him a scarf, because, well... It was winter, right? And even if he is from North Blue, it doesn't mean he wouldn't like to be warm, right? Right?

Shachi smiled knowingly and nodded his head. "You can drag the Captain along with you then, alright? I think he's still in his quarters..."

Yuki nodded absentmindedly and went out. The green plant she needed to avoid for few last days were withering and disappearing all around; certainly a nice sight to behold. To reach the Captain's cabin lasted five minutes, and with every second passing, Yuki felt more nervous. She didn't really talk with Law those days, since he wasn't out of his room much, but still... She really hoped the dark doctor would like her present.

The corridor was empty and not lit very well; everybody was in main cabin already, and even from here Yuki could easily hear the music playing. She clutched her hand-made and elaborately packed scarf, and looked at her Captain's door with a determination. Just to snort at the sight.

In front of the very door she was quite nervous to open, stood a familiar figure. Law was dressed in black shirt and black pants with white spots, his hat on place, earrings in ears, annoyed frown on face, and, what's most surprising, deep blush spread on his caramel cheeks. The reason was obvious, and hanged just above his head.

" _Very_ funny, Yuki-ya." he said irritatingly.

"..." Yuki tried to regain her breath. "You've _no idea..._ " was what she said, but at the same time tried to stay serious. Then, she strode to his side, looking at the offending plant on the ceiling, the last one, probably. Law looked at her in disbelief.

"Yuki-ya, may I ask what you think you're doing at the moment?" he said, just a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

"I don't believe you want me to call the guys, nor to starve to death being caught in the plant's web. Now, close your eyes, you're putting me off." she said, blushing lightly.

Law obeyed, and closed his eyes, his blush deepening a little when Yuki cupped his face in her tattooed hands. "God, try to relax; it's not like I'm gonna bite you or anything." she said, somewhat tense herself. She looked at surgeon's face and frowned slightly, noticing a fought off smirk where it shouldn't have been. Then, a realization struck her. Law wouldn't... He was not planning this, right?

Just in case, let's say it like this: two can play this game...

Yuki's face neared Law's; she could feel his warm, not-so-even breath against her lips, and for a second was seriously tempted to let the pride go and kiss him long and needy. Then, Yuki mentally slapped herself. What are you thinking, idiot?

But Law had problems with self-control as well. It took all of his willpower not to move, not to reach and press the teasing Yukionna against himself. She was impossibly close; yet not touching.

Then, suddenly, having won her inner fight, Yuki's thin, soft lips went a little bit up and left a peck on her Captain's nose, then backed off. To say that Law was left shocked would be an understatement; for a few seconds, he stood where he was, not noticing being freed, and stared at the laughing Yukionna in disbelief. A _nose._ A _fucking nose_. Was she kidding him?

"Now, don't be so gloomy, Captain! It's Christmas, after all." She said, catching his hand and pulling him in general direction of the main cabin where the feast was waiting to start. Law finally chuckled as well, not being able to deny his loss.

"I guess you're right. Merry Christmas, Yuki-ya."

Just before the door they stopped, and black, soft scarf with yellow jolly roger on it found it's way around Law's neck. "Merry Christmas to you too, Captain." Yuki said, and laughed, noticing the little, transparent webs connecting with her palms. The last, survived piece of mistletoe.

...

The plant long ago managed to wither and fall beside them; and, from behind the door, crew was getting really impatient. Not that they were aware of the fact that their awaited Captain was currently smirking in the prolonged kiss, and not caring for their impatience at all.

"Penguin..." Shachi stretched and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Mmm?" came the stoic response.

"I wonder, why had Captain ordered us to find this weird mistletoe... He didn't went out under it even once..."

"..." Penguin shrugged his arms. "Who knows..."


	10. Chapter 10

" _...spectrum..."_

Seven beautiful, brightly coloured strings of light whisked in the general direction of the clear, blue sky above them. They were respectively red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, making probably the very first separated rainbow in the world. They were also harmless, and unexpected.

Law looked with his eyes widened slightly at the silhouette before him. His Yukionna stood tall, seemingly relaxed, still having her back to him, and her front to a very confused Shichibukai. There was also one more thing in front of her – gigantic, floating prism that was probably responsible for splitting the laser. Also, the prism didn't just stick where it was – it started to melt into two pools of transparent liquid that made their way to Yuki's hands, transforming and solidifying into the form of two katanas. The girl giggled lightly, and Law frowned. Something was off here...

" _Hihihi... that's more like it..."_

The rest of the people present either finished grasping just what has happened at the moment or already let it be. Kidd was the first one to talk, as he turned his face in Law's direction.

"Trafalgar, you're in my way!"

"I think I already told you not to order me around, Eustass-ya." the doctor was calm, and his smirk came back on his features. He can worry later. Right now, it was fun going on! Plus, he was just a little, tiny bit euphoric of escaping death the moment before.

"Tch, bastard." the redhead was certainly not glad they'd eventually have to fight together, again. "But, I have to say your girl's not quite bad... How about that? Oi, woman!" he called, and the raven-haired, emerald-eyed and currently madly grinning girl looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Join my crew!"

She didn't respond. Or, more likely, she didn't have time to. Even Kidd himself was surprised by the speed of a certain Nodachi that right now was pointing directly at his throat.

"...you wanna die, Eustass-ya?" came a low whisper of the Surgeon of the Death. Kidd was completely unfazed by it. He didn't ask again out of pure laziness. Of course.

All the talking aside, the Shichibukai present wasn't going to let them chat for too long. Another laser was fired, and this time, both crews managed to dodge it without girl's help. Not that she was going to help them anyway.

She was long on the move, not waiting for Law's orders; running in the direction of enormous man, her two transparent katanas loosely held on her sides. The Shichibukai clearly didn't expect such a move; or he was too busy firing lasers everywhere to notice. She managed to jump high enough to hit his head, producing a little slash on man's cheek and smashing her weapons into pieces in process. Even so, she seemed unfazed by the fact, almost as if she was expecting it. Soon, two brand new katanas formed in her hands again, as she backed off, still grinning that unhealthy grin. Law picked one of the previous katanas' shards and examined it quickly.

"...glass?"

 _Devil Fruit user, most likely a Paramecia..._ Law remembered what the wanted poster said. Such a thing... He almost giggled. Come on... Glass?

But, he couldn't deny the fact that it already proved itself useful. Everything made sense – it was so logical to create a prism big enough to split the laser into harmless spectrum... And with the ability to create more and more weapons, it's not like Yuki had to care about damaging her swords.

She jumped again, this time along with the masked man, Killer, from another crew. While he attacked (or tried to) legs, she went once more for a face; both of their attacks were equally in vain. The Shichibukai was just like a robot – he didn't budge, nor show pain despite their greatest efforts. The girl landed gracefully on the grass beside him, and giggled again, already creating new swords.

"That's nice to finally know your ability, right, Yuki-ya?" he said, unsheathing his Nodachi, deciding to join the fight. But the girl didn't answer, which was weird. Law looked at her face, and stilled in shock. What in heavens had happened to his Yukionna?

Her face was... different. Up close, Law noticed she wore unhealthy, toothy grin, and her eyes were opened widely, indicating madness. Her whole frame was ticking nervously, swaying a little, and she looked at him as if not recognizing. It couldn't be...

Law turned back in the direction of their enemy. His face was emotionless, maybe a little thoughtful. He'll think about that later; now, he certainly had bigger problems to attend to.

…

Yuki opened her eyes. She looked around herself and regretted it the moment later.

"Mr. Trafalgar Law."

An innocently looking surgeon hurried from around the infirmary's corner to her side, drying his hands of the blood. "Oops... You weren't supposed to wake up so soon... Yuki-ya?"

"..." the girl sighed, trying to keep her calm. Like hell. "Mister, you ought to give me a _really_ good reason why am I currently seeing my another half laying on that operating table beside, and you _really_ ought to give it to me quickly."

"Um..." the doctor had at least that much decency to look a little guilty. "Curiosity's not good enough?"

"No."

"Health reasons?"

"You came up with it just now."

"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm given a chance to examine a Glass-Glass Fruit user every day..."

"You were looking for traces of the Devil Fruit inside of my body? What kind of a Captain are you? And, can you finally put me _back together_?!"

Few minutes later, when Yuki was put back into one piece and failed to chase Law down to give him a piece of her mind about dissecting his sleeping subordinates, she found herself sitting on the chair across from the doctor and listening to shortened version of what has happened.

"Then, when the freakin' robot went down, we decided to make a run for it, but you wouldn't follow. It kinda looked as if you're not sure either to attack us or not... When we managed to pull you with us, you somehow fainted. Bepo carried you to the submarine, and now here we are."

"So it wasn't a weird dream after all..."

"Seems like it. What do you think, Yuki-ya?"

"Hm..." Yuki pondered for a while. "It's not like I need to think something about that, really. It's all kinda blurry, but I'd consider it fainting's fault. Oh, and I need to thank Bepo for carrying me."

"I actually thought about your new – or, should I say, old – ability. And, what's curious, why it resurfaced then of all times."

Yuki frowned at him. "Isn't that obvious? You were in danger; I was just repaying my debt."

Law chuckled. "Is that so..." he stood up, heading for the infirmary door. "Thanks, although I'm pretty sure I would manage that on my own, you know."

It was Yuki's time to snort. "Yeah. Sure. Don't worry, Captain; for awhile I'm gonna be there to save your ass even when it's not really needed."

"I certainly hope so, Yuki-ya..."

…

" _Why didn't you let me?!"_

Yuki was dreaming. She knew she was. Which doesn't explain the fact why was she currently standing on strange, white sand and staring at a person in front of her. It was a woman, but with her nails shaped like claws and her eyes reminding these of an animal.

"What?"

" _You are so mean... Emy wanted to have fun, but you, you needed to keep me locked away for so long... And then, you thrust me back... So stingy... I don't like this..."_

The person before her started to sway, pouting childishly.

"So you're real... Well, like hell I was letting you go wild on my friends! Why you wanted to hurt them, anyway? I managed to hold you back in the last moment, too..."

The silhouette snorted. _"Yeah, right, friends. And where were those friends of yours when you needed them? Where were they when you were weak, miserable and in need? I didn't know you'd become so forgetful..."_

"It's... I didn't even know them back then, and I can't remember my past life, so it's alright! Who are you, by the way?"

" _So that's the case... You just don't remember Emy..."_

"Emy? It's your name?"

" _They say demons are not given a name, but you invented one for me... It's Emerald Killer, right? You must know at least that much of your loyal Emy..."_

Yuki backed off, and stumbled, falling painfully, scratching her hands. "You're... Go away! I don't need you anymore! I don't want to be a murderer!"

Emy suddenly jumped, halting few mere inches before Yukionna's face; her long, pale nails scratching her cheek as Emy cupped Yuki's face in hands. _"Such naivete .. I can teach you, you know? I can tell you all about your past life... Our past life... And you will soon find out that me,_ I _am the only one you could and would ever call a 'friend'..."_

…

Yuki woke up with her own hand stifling a quiet scream. The ceiling was white, cold and unforgiving as always. It was early, too early for even Penguin to be awake, yet Yuki stood up almost immediately, not wanting to sleep anymore. She needed comfort, fresh air and a shower. Not necessarily in that order.

Shower came first, cold and nicely vanishing all the thoughts other than "Holy fuck why it's so freezing?" from her mind. When submarine was docked, as they right now were in the cave created beneath the grove 22, and engines were shut off, the water couldn't be heated. Usually that wouldn't be a problem, since the crew would just book an inn to sleep and clean themselves, but since right now they were hiding...

Having completed the shower task, Yuki tiptoed to her Captain's cabin, opening the door gently and slipping inside. She knew she was acting childish and probably a bit creepy, but there was something so soothing in watching her Captain sleep – his peaceful, vulnerable sleeping face, so much in contrast of the feeling of safety his very presence always gave her was enough to put Yuki at ease. She evened her breathing, leaning against the door, not daring to come completely in. I wonder if I should tell him, she thought. Captain said to trust him, and, despite Law sometimes being a jerk, she knew she could, but... Somehow, just one strange dream, despite her certainty about how true it was, seemed not important enough to trouble her Captain.

She closed the door just as quietly, not wanting to wake the very tired doctor up, and went to the main deck, jumping into the little bay the cave offered and out to the Sabaody Archipelago's lawless zone. It was quiet; after yesterday's Marines' ride, nobody really felt like going for a walk, apart from, of course, a certain insomniac Yukionna.

She paced quickly, trying to warm up and let the fresh air consume all of her worries and uncertainties Think positively; she told herself. It wasn't like that... Emy was going to take control over her or anything. Yuki got enough of bloodshed and pain; she don't need her. She can start training on her own, and would manage to become strong enough to be able to protect those dear to her without her inner demon's services. Deep in thought, Yuki didn't look where was she going; suddenly, she halted, eyes wide in alarm. The girl tired to turn back, move any limb, but it was not working; she couldn't even budge. What...?

"Fufufu... Look, who's here..." she stilled, hearing the voice that so often haunted her nightmares. The voice of the one, she knew, who was behind all her misery. Who? Why? How? Too many questions filled her mind, and suddenly, she had a feeling she didn't experience in quite a while.

Yuki felt enslaved.

"Hm... You still can't use _that,_ do you... And I thought you'd be angry enough to finally find out how, since I had that little village of yours butchered..."

Two tears came to Yuki's eyes, and with them a river of memories. Happy, smiling faces of her sisters. Worried look in her mother's eyes. Then screams and fire and blood.

Yet she couldn't even whimper; the fear was overwhelming. The girl was hanging pitifully on the invisible threads that connected her, and always will, to her owner. An inner part of Yuki's mind, though, was swirling happily, fighting to resurface. _Master~ He's back~_ The voice singsong, making a mental dance.

"I've got some business to attend to now anyway... Fufufu... But don't worry... I'll be back for you, my little killer..."

As the threads vanished, and so did the voice, pale Yukionna fell on the ground, still not daring to move. She couldn't; the fear she had so happily forgotten came back with full force, immobilizing her, causing her to feel nauseous.

A dry, choked sob came out of her throat, and then – nothing. All Yuki was capable of doing was breathing heavily and praying to wake up in her own bed, happy to end such a nightmare.

But the life was never so kind, was it now...

…

"...oi."

_Poke, poke._

"Oi. Woman. You alive?"

_Poke, poke, poke._

Yuki didn't know how much time has passed; not very long, judging by the way she was still shaking violently. The streets were still empty, and she could feel the early morning chill starting to bite her skin, creating a string of goosebumps. Somebody was here, though; and somebody that sounded strangely familiar on top of that. She raised her head a little, quite shocked for her muscles to actually move, and was greeted by a loud curse.

"Holy fuck, what happened to ya? You look like a Grim Reaper having a bad day, dammit!"

Two strong, not very gentle arms hoisted her up and helped her shivering body to keep standing. Two men were beside her – one hoisting her up, another standing in front of them, his hands crossed. He wore a helmet she knew from somewhere, but right now couldn't even comprehend the thought. She closed her eyes and decided not to think for a while. But her senses couldn't be so easily turned off.

_Metal... Spices and alcohol... Fire? Does it even make sense for someone to smell like metal or fire? Oh, and a really strong scent of blood..._

Unaware of their smells being analysed by shocked Yukionna, two man continued their talk. "Why are you even helping her, Kidd? It's not like you... And I thought Trafalgar already told you what he thinks of trying to steal his crewmates..."

"Because fuck you, that's why, Killer. And what's that supposed to mean? You consider me a coward that would get scared of some raccoon-faced doc?"

Yuki's mind wanted to tell her something, and the rest of her sobered up quite a bit. Now, what was it again?

Kidd.

Killer.

Ho~ Ly~ Fuck~

"Oh, look, she's awake..." Kidd sounded quite relieved by the fact. He stopped being so, though, when he found out there was a beautiful and certainly deadly, glass necklace placed around his throat.

"I have no idea why the hell were you... I guess helping me just now, but more importantly..." the Yukionna's face suddenly became darker. "What were you saying about my Captain?"

If not for the helmet, Killer would've already facepalmed quite a few times. He was not going to help his idiot of a captain. It was all his idea to begin with. Besides, the glass blades vanished a moment later, when Kidd let the girl go. He rubbed his neck, seemingly annoyed.

"What's with this crew? You can't ask the girl to join, you can't say a bad word about the captain... Is it some fucking mutual adoration group or what?" 

Yuki backed off, her eyes still wide, her body still shaking slightly. She closed her eyes and breathed few times, trying to calm down. She needed to go back already.

"...thanks for help, Mr. Eustass. I guess I owe you a favor. That would _not_ require a betrayal of my crew, of course."

Kidd just chuckled darkly and waved his hand. "Don't worry 'bout it. I just felt like being nice today. You tell your Captain I'm _so_ gonna smash him in the New World, though."

Yuki bitten her lip. Somehow, it didn't feel right. "Ok..." with uncertain steps, she came closer to Kidd and quickly kissed him on the cheek, murmuring a quiet 'thank you' again and strolling off in the direction on her dock grove. She surely was _not_ aware of certain irritated, silvery-gray eyes following her figure, and then vanishing almost as quickly and quietly as their came.

As she left, Kidd was left with his face painted in nice, ruby shade, perfectly matching his hair, and a very amused first mate, laughing his head off on his side. Damn that crew, he thought, being sure the girl was well aware that the great captain of Kidd Pirates is going to be made fun of for the rest of the day.


	11. Chapter 11

A vein popped out on Yuki's forehead. "He said what?"

Even considering quite thick protection of the door to girl's room Shachi was currently standing behind, the poor male flinched at her tone. Why was it always him that was chosen to deliver the worst news? "You heard me correctly, Yuki-chan; come on, it's not my fault. Just make it quick and without pain, and you can join me in the pilot cabin, eh? We should be leaving soon, and I need to check the machinery, so..."

Yuki sighed and rubbed her temples. She came back few hours ago, when the submarine was still sleeping, and decided to help the cook a little; it was her turn, anyway. Just after breakfast, she retreated to her cabin, wanting to think a little in peace. Such a beautiful plan was, sadly destroyed _really_ quickly by the nervous redhead, or, more accurately, by her idiotic Captain's egoism. What's with this guy all of a sudden?

"Alright, alright, got it... Just remind me why he requested _me_ to make him a fucking breakfast and take it to him? Apart from the oh so obvious fact he's too lazy to actually do it himself, or at least _get the fuck out of the bed_?"

What answered her was a sigh from the other side. Yuki shook her head and stood up. Well, she thought. At least I finally got an occasion to poison my dear Captain.

…

Half an hour later, a very annoyed girl with filled tray knocked to her Captain's door. A grumpy "Come in." followed.

Yuki opened said door and frowned, not expecting the room to be completely dark.

"You know, you could at least pretend you were awake for some time..." she sighed, put the tray on the desk she knew was there, and opened the curtains, flooding the cabin with light. "Morning, Captain! Here's your..." she halted.

Yuki closed her eyes. Yuki opened her eyes.

The room was nothing like the nicely chaotic place, filled with trash, clothing and books she was used to by now. Law did something she would've never suspected him to: he cleaned the place. And it was really creepy.

The books, usually thrown all over the place, were put on the shelves, sorted by the size. The clothes were folded and organised so elaborately she couldn't believe Law did it without using a ruler. On the desk, there was nothing but a tray she just put there and few pens, laying symmetrically on either side of a clean sheet of paper. The documents that usually filled the space were all sorted and put into folders, neatly gathered on the side.

As for Law himself, he was laying on his side, eyes half-lidded, face blank, staring at her coldly and with just a dash of sulking. But that was not in the slightest the case that bothered Yuki. For she was not really looking at his face; more likely, she gaped at his half-naked body, laid gracefully on the just made up bed. Apparently, the doctor didn't bother putting some actual clothes on, remaining in his pyjama pants. It left Yuki speechless, and repeating in her head 'notgonnablushnotgonnablush'

It helped.

"Finished?" came cold, bored voice. Yuki's eyes shot back to look into the emotionless, silvery-gray eyes. She frowned. Now's what? Why's he sulking all of a sudden?

"Well, I certainly didn't expect to ever see this room cleaned." she said, deciding to shrug it off and gave her Captain a tray. Or would have, but needed to put it on the bed beside his pillow, since his hands were busy: one with supporting the doctor's head, second laying on his side. The silver eyes fell on the meal.

"Feed me."

Yuki looked at him. "...sorry?"

Law rolled his eyes. "I don't consider moving my muscles necessary to eat, since there is somebody who can distribute the food to me without my attendance. You heard me, Yuki-ya, I don't believe you managed to forget the meaning of the words I used."

"Nope, but I had a flailing hope I heard you wrong. You seriously want me to... _feed_ you just because you're to lazy to do it yourself?"

"Apparently. Now feed me."

Yuki stormed out of the room, shutting the door behind her. What a jerk!

Inside of the cabin, Law very slowly, and very carefully wiped the egg out of his face, where it was thrust by the furious Yukionna. Well, he guessed he brought that upon himself... He sighed, and went back to sulking. What's the big problem, anyway? She should've been grateful it was just it he thought of as a punishment for going out on her own, and... and... and whatever she was doing with Eustass, which he denied to name.

Law frowned, and decided to eat anyway. He was quite hungry, much to his own surprise, not to mention curious. He took a bite, and momentarily regretted it.

"I'm _so_ gonna murder you, Yuki-ya..." he groaned into the empty room.

…

Yuki snickered at the groan that reached her all the way to the piloting cabin she was currently hiding in. Shachi looked at her with horror mixed amusement. "Alright... What did you do?"

"Um..." the girl made a show of thinking intensively. "I might have been accidentally spilling tobacco sauce and overdoing pepper on our Captain's meal somewhere in process of cooking it..." she said innocently. The ginger shook his head with a giggle.

"God, you're probably the first one to made a prank on him. But, Yuki-chan, you do realise Captain's gonna have his revenge on you?"

"Nah. I don't think he's gonna go much worse than turning me into a jigsaw again. Stop worrying, I think our Captain is too kind for very cruel revange."

…

One should never underestimate her Captain. Yuki decided it should be the sentence of the week, as she was hunched over the infirmary sink, trying her best to clean one of thousands scalpels and other idiotic medical stuff from old, dried blood. It was quite some time after their departure from Sabaody, but she seriously couldn't tell – mostly because for last week she was imprisoned in the sickeningly white room, nicknamed "Infirmary", officially training to be a nurse; in fact, it was the punishment she received for 'trying to poison' her Captain, and, to spindly doctor's sadistic amusement, she was now bound to come here every day, cleaning and assisting him in his sick experiments.

Needless to say, Yuki had enough long before she even started.

Actually, said experiments turned out to be quite interesting, and Law tried (she knew he did) for his 'patients' to make it out alive, which, given his ability, wasn't that big of an achievement, but Yuki couldn't help finding the way the sharp blade collided with vulnerable body simply disgusting. And that bastard knew it well.

Yet she took her task seriously, for the doctor wasn't saying 'training' just for the show. Yuki was amazed how good of a teacher the surgeon proven himself to be, and how much information she was able to quickly memorize and learn. After as long as a week, she was already perfectly capable of assisting a surgery and even tending to some minor wounds and illnesses on her own.

Scalpels, needles, complicated medical equipment looking like a delicate sculptures from steel and obsidian - scrubbing all of these for hours on end actually made her remember their names and uses. The drugs were another story; it wasn't often when Law opened his cabinet and allowed her to see some of his own medicaments, so she could learn their names, looks and what are they for. Yuki found herself fascinated, and now she needed to know more; plus, intensive study proved to keep a certain unwelcomed guest inside her mind at bay. She knew that Emy was there, but right now she wasn't interrupting. For that, Yuki was grateful.

And she knew that these new-gained skills will be needed, and soon; for they were going to Marinesford, to take part in the War.

…

Yuki looked, eyes wide, at the scene that was playing itself in front of her eyes. The man she knew just from the newspapers, Portogas D. Ace, battled one of the Admirals: Akainu. Not far from them, very beaten-up Monkey D. Luffy was kneeling, bent over to pick something from the ground. The yellow submarine was hiding behind one of few ships in the bay of Marinesford, and Yuki was standing on main deck, beside the rest of the crew and her Captain. They were given just one order: watch, but don't take part in the events happening.

Even from this distance, she could hear the words being said.

"The name of this era is Whitebeard!"

"Ace, stop it!"

"Take a good look..."

"Hey, wait! Luffy!"

Tears filled her eyes and flew down her cheeks. None other on the submarine cried; they were shocked, scared, amazed: but never sad. Yet Yuki's eyes declined to stay dry – and she didn't want them to. The tragedy was just too great.

"ACE!"

The scream was sharp like a knife, and Yuki could easily see that with it, the rest of Starwhat's strength was gone. She tugged the sleeve of her Captain's hoodie, averting his attention from the scene.

"Law... Please, help him..."

Law looked at her, realizing she was crying. He frowned, and looked at the Marine HQ again. "Mugiwara-ya is my rival, Yuki-ya. I can't be going around saving him every time he fails."

Yuki closed her eyes and went back. She shouldn't even ask. Law was right – as much as she pitied Luffy, she couldn't really do anything about the fact they were not nakamas. Law had no obligation to help.

"Yet..." the single word fell from her Captain's lips, and she stilled, not daring to hope. "Even an enemy is a kind of relationship, isn't it... And I seriously never got a chance to dissect a rubber-man before..."

…

The steady beeps of machinery and bright lights made Yuki shiver; her eyes had dark bags underneath, and were bloodshot. Even so, she still stood beside one of the two operating tables, tirelessly assisting her Captain.

The silence were almost absolute. The only interruption were said beeps, sickening sound of flesh meeting blade in the doctor's hands and his quiet commands. They were operating for long time, and Yuki didn't even have the strength to keep a count on hours spent in the infirmary anymore. She needed to be constantly concentrated, checking the state of another patient, a huge fishman, assisting Law and praying for successful operation.

Luffy was in bad condition. A very bad condition. Even her inexperienced eyes could tell this much. Big burn on the chest, whole body infected with some kind of poison, messed up hormones, millions of minor cuts and wounds, and, more than anything else, his body limits as well as his mind being completely broken... It seemed as if even Law would not be able to help.

Law glanced at her from above his work. "You can go rest. I see you've almost passed out. Just call here Shachi or Penguin, they've been sleeping for few hours now."

Yuki looked at the beaten body beneath her Captain's steady fingers. She shook her head. "No, I'll stay. But I can call them nevertheless; you'd be better with more capable assistance."

"I've got a perfectly capable one already. Well, do as you wish; just don't pass out in the middle of work."

"...Okay." she said, not blushing at a compliment. The time for such things will come after she's done washing the blood off of her face and making sure the life of certain raven-haired boy is no longer in danger.

…

Yuki stumbled to the main deck, too tired to even wash her face; she still had droplets of blood on her cheeks. Yet she didn't expect the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, to welcome her at the door.

"How is Luffy's condition?" she asked the girl, looking like a scared five year old. Very beautiful five years old, but still.

"Captain's still working; all that remains is to sew the injuries. I promise you he'll do his best, Miss, but... Strawhat's wounds are worse than we could've expected. Technically, he shouldn't be even living right now; I don't understand how his body coping with the amount of damage he'd suffered." Yuki said, leaning against the wall and sliding down it with exasperated sigh. The Empress sat next to her, hiding her face in hands.

"Is there any hope at all?" she whispered, on the brink of sobbing. Yuki ignored jealous stares of the guys and smiled lightly on the women beside her.

"There is always hope, Miss. Have faith in our Captain; he's good at doing the impossible and giving new life... I know, more than anyone."

…

Yuki sat in the palace of Pirate Empress, looking out of the window, observing the landscape of Amazon Lily. All the island was so quiet. The girls waited anxiously to hear anything about Luffy's condition; yet he was in coma, still balancing on the verge of death. And she really shouldn't be sitting peacefully when it was happening almost right in front of her eyes.

Yet, Yuki couldn't really do anything. After her Captain finished the operation, she was designed to take care of Boa Hancock, which provided them to grow quite close to each other – mostly because the Pirate Empress was so worried about her love's health she saw Yuki as the only source of information. And so, when they arrived at Amazon Lily and the guys were allowed to dock in a little bay on the other side of the island, she was told to go with Hancock. And here she was.

The women of Amazon Lily were not allowed to come and see "those outrageous beings", as they called men. It was ridiculous, but... She was somehow happy for those conditions, too. For example, when it was a dinner-time, few of the girls helped her to carry some food for the crew, and Yuki found it utterly irritating how they tried to poke or pinch every men they spotted; mostly, certain raven-haired Captain. After two days, Yuki decided enough is enough, and carried Law's meals directly to him, becoming the object of his teasing for the rest of the day. But she was not jealous. The word was 'protective'. All this poking must be bad for health, right? Yuki sighed, and shook her head. There's no sense in sitting and analysing such disturbing thoughts, when she had to go back already. She would be late for the party if she don't hurry.

When few days passed, and Luffy was not waking up, Law decided they shouldn't wait with two belated welcome parties, since they had no idea how much time it'd take for them to be able to leave. So, with a quiet approval of the Pirate Empress, Boa Hancock, the little bay on the southwest bank of Amazon Lily was decorated and prepared for celebration. Yuki, as the only one who could've enter the island, spend whole day preparing the banquet, and still needed to find time for preparing herself; not that she needed to think very long of what to wear. When everything was almost ready, though, she didn't expect whole army of the Isle of Women to kidnap her and make her look... well. Certainly different. And beautiful. Yuki agreed for all this, apart from her clothing; that she decided herself, and girls had to say she couldn't have chosen any better.

…

All the crew sat around the table brought from the submarine, waiting for the last one of the two main stars of the day. Law stretched, showing his impatience. He decided, quite surprisingly, to wear something smarter than his usual hoodie; his upper body was clad in black shirt, few opened buttons revealed quite a bit of his caramel skin. He planned to see Yuki blush this evening, just to feed his ego a little bit more, and was damn going to achieve that. Law felt he needs to somehow fix the relations between them; pale girl seemed seriously mad for his little prank, and he was on the sulking mode for far too long as well. Plus, their last days, filled with blood and surgery images didn't serve them well. Some good-natured teasing, though, should do the trick.

Yet, in the end, the great Surgeon of Death was the one to gawk, when he heard the gasps of the crew, and turned around, to see just what his Yukionna was transformed into.

Her hair were combed simply, tied with green ribbon. Her face was somehow made to appear even more perfect in the warm lights of the lanterns, looking like finest porcelain. How females were able to achieve that was beyond him. Two little earrings adorned her ears, beside that Yuki didn't wear any more jewellery, and her feet were bare. But, the thing that made him stare the most, Yuki was wearing long, plain, emerald dress, perfectly matching her eyes. The very thing Law remembered so well, the one he wanted to see her in since oh-so-long ago.

Blushing lightly at the silence that befell, Yuki came to the table and sat down. She waved her hand in front of Law's face. "Um... Captain? You've been staring at me for a full five minutes now..."

Law chuckled, and raised his tattooed hands in defence. "Well, you're the one to blame. I have to say, you look beautiful, Yuki-ya."

…

Yuki laid on her bed, still dressed up as she was for the party. It ended quite recently, really, and her feet were sore from all the dancing. Every crewmember decided that, since she was the only woman in the crew, they all have to get one dance. And while she wouldn't complain about Shachi, Penguin and the rest... humanoid nakamas, dancing with Bepo or Jean Bart was torture.

The girl smiled to herself, remembering the last dance. Law must've been seriously drunk to agree for it, but, funny thing, she didn't smell any alcohol in his breath. The musical trio played a slow song she was going to kill them for tomorrow, yet... Yes, yet... Yuki put a hand over her eyes.

Law was such a good dancer. His moves were smooth and gracious, and he was leading her so gently she almost felt like flying. One of his hand was on her waist, the second holding her own; warm, kind embrace. His eyes not even once left her face; he was smiling lightly, even in the dance joking about their height difference.

They were so into it that they danced quite a time after the song ended, not realizing the lack of music.

The hand that was up till now covering Yuki's eyes, went down to her heart. It was giving her strange signals for quite some time, and she wasn't stupid. But falling in love with her Captain, however handsome he might've been, was just not right. It would only lead to troubles, and that was a big no-no. She had enough troubles of her own. Speaking of which...

" _Are you an idiot? What's with that lovey-dovey attitude towards that raccoon-face? I don't like him, you hear me? I won't allow this. No way."_ came a grumpy, muffled voice from behind her head.

"Since when do you play so 'uncute'? What's your problem, really? I know I'm his subordinate, but... What can I really do? I didn't even realize for how long I felt something for him."

" _That's exactly it. You're falling for his trap. You'll see, he just wants to make some profit out of you. Trust me."_

"Why should I? And you're wrong. I know Law. He's not that kind of a person. For others, sure, but he really treasures his crew, and would never do anything to one of us."

" _That's your argument? 'He's and asshole for all but me' ? Are you even listening to your own words?"_

"Oh, shut up, Miss I-Know-Everything. I don't want to be advised in love matter by someone called 'the Emerald Killer'. And I never said I love him to begin with. Now go away."

And for once, the annoying voice on the back of her mind decided to comply her plea. Emy had time to act; she needn't hurry. Since she knew one thing her other side was not aware of in the slightest...


	12. Chapter 12

Yuki shuffled the newspaper she was currently reading. Some quite extraordinary things were happening all over the Grand Line, and she decided that, being, in her own mind, the only person in her whole crew that had at least small amount of common sense, she needed to keep a track on them. She was completely absorbed in her task, and failed to notice the noises left by a pair of black sandals, tiptoeing to her side.

"Anything interesting in that paper?" came victorious voice from behind the sheet. Yuki raised her eyebrows and smiled lightly, not bothering to lower the thing or take off her sunglasses. Not that she didn't like looking at the person speaking. More like she squinted at losing in that little situation – somehow, every little thing with her and Law participating, turned into contest. Millions of small games – 'Who's gonna finish eating first', 'Who's gonna drink more', 'Who's gonna wake up first the next morning'...

"Quite a few things. Seems like Luffy-kun is all good and better. He'd caused quite a havoc in the Navy HQ. Again." she said, skipping through the text. The submarine was at the moment floating in the middle of the ocean, quite nearby some summer island without any particular name. It was one of those few uncommon times when they had nothing to do and could simply relax. Right now, the only problem the Heart Pirates were encountering was the most simple question: whether they will or won't go straight to the New World, but that was for their Captain to decide. Said Captain was at the moment hovering above Yuki's deckchair, dressed in loose, yellow sweatshirt with black spots, simple, black shorts on his long legs.

"Is that so..." he murmured lowly, clearly not paying attention to her words. Yuki finally lowered the paper, looking at him with amusement behind her sunglasses. Few days had already passed since they left the Isle of Women, and since then, something was different between the two. Law would smile, not smirk, actually smile from time to time without any particular reason. Yuki would hum when she thought nobody was listening. They both seemed unusually happy. Funny thing, because nothing really happened. They had that party, shared a dance; one could say, nothing serious.

Yuki went back to reading, and asked, quite off-handedly. "Did you make up your mind whether we set sail or not? I'm quite curious about that New World... But at the same time, I wonder – are the Heart Pirates strong enough?"

"I'm thinking the same." Law sat on the side of her deckchair, stretching in the heat. Being a native from North Blue, he didn't really fancy high temperatures, but these little holidays he decided they can afford turned out to be nice idea. Even if Yuki refused to wear a bikini. "Why? Did you read something of the place that made you wonder?"

Yuki shrugged, and then grinned widely at the lines she just saw. "...nope, just, many other Supernovas are already showing off. Kidd set out from his first island in the New World, leaving it on fire, not that I'm surprised... X Drake-guy's planning something considering the fact he's supposed to be heading for Kaidou's favorite island right now... The girl with pink hair was arrested by Akainu..." Yuki was halted by weight of her Captain leaving her side. She glanced at him again, surprised. Law was frowning, and going in general direction of his cabin, or at least insides of the submarine. What the heck?

"...and where are you going?"

"Well, in case you forgot, Yuki-ya, I've got some duties as a captain of this ship. Feel free to continue relaxing, though; I'll manage everything on my own." he said sarcastically, completely ruining the mood. Yuki sighed and let him be. She wasn't going to argue now, when there was sun to enjoy. But the sudden change in Law's attitude made her uneasy. Did she say something she shouldn't have?

…

Exactly two hours have passed. Law was laying on his bed, looking at the ceiling. Inside the submarine wasn't so hot, and he loved to spend time in his own cabin, peacefully, quietly and without any annoying Yukionna by his side. He sighed, massaging his temples. Who was he kidding, really? Sitting in his room was deeply rooted habit of his, resurfacing every time he was in the slightest mad or uneasy. And the main problem wasn't actually the feeling alone; moreover, it was the fact he was getting like that far too often as of late. Every little thing bothered him, and most of them connected to Yuki. Law checked that up, few times, actually, but he couldn't find any sort of illness that could've caused such a behavior He even tried to find some drugs, but no, none of them. For the first time in his life, with all of his books and medical experience could he not understand the signals his own body given him.

Slightly higher temperature. Rush of blood to cheeks. Increased heart rate, uneasiness, sweating, obsessive behaviors. Periodical lack of blood for brain, causing the feeling of slight dizziness. Overproduction of endorphins. What the heck could it be? Law didn't like to be sick, and even more so, he didn't like to not know the sickness, being the best doctor on his ship.

He sighed again, and decided to go back to where his previous train of thoughts ended (namely, deciding they would need some more time for training before setting sail for the New World), when he was interrupted by very agitated and panicking Shachi, who burst into his room without knocking – scene unusual as it was.

"C-Captain!"

"What is it? What's happened?" Law was quite baffled by his subordinate's behavior.

"We w-were playing, and..."

"I'm busy, Shachi, I can't join you."

"B-but! But Yuki-chan..."

"Do you think that'd convince me? Even if she were to wear a swimsuit, and not that blasted T-shirt she found, I wouldn't..."

"Captain!" Shachi finally shouted, shutting his Captain up. "Yuki fell to the ocean!"

…

"...hah... you..."

"...ha... I'm... sorry..."

"S-sorry? ha... ha... You're an idiot!"

Yuki was currently laying on the main deck, surrounded by most of the crew, and coughing out some persistent ocean water. She was also busy throwing curses at her miserably looking Captain, who was more or less mimicking her actions; droplets of salt water dripping from his soaked form.

"...I know..." he couldn't really argue with that. Why did he run on the deck and jumped into the ocean the moment Shachi's words sank into his mind was beyond him. Everything he knew was that he really did that, and it was by far one of the most stupid things he had ever done. An anchor jumping into the ocean to save another anchor. He really was an idiot.

"You could've died! What were you thinking?" Yuki continued her scolding, making Law feel even more guilty, stupid and soaking wet. He waved the crew off – if he had to be scolded, he'd like it better for them not to hear this. Especially Penguin, who saved both him and Yuki in the end. When they were finally left alone, Law sat heavily on the floor and said quietly, his head down.

"..sorry. I know."

Yuki suddenly started to shiver. Well, at least she didn't start to cry, for what Law was grateful; despite being one of the very best doctors of the world, great Surgeon of Death had no idea how to cope with crying girl. No, all she did was hugging him tightly, mumbling even more curses into his chest; for some reason, Law realized she was scared not because she has nearly drowned, but because he could have shared her fate. That made him immensely happy, even though Law couldn't really comprehend the reason behind that feeling.

"I beg you, Captain, never try to save me again!" Well. Certainly unexpected turn of events, yep. But not half bad. At that point, Law's body decided there's no sense waiting for his mind's commands, and turned on autopilot. Law's arms raised, hugging the shivering girl just as tightly. His hands buried themselves in her wet, raven hair. His lips moved, whispering soothing words. Ten minutes passed, and the girl backed off, seemingly not quite content to do so. She averted her eyes, face bright red, mumbled something about needing to change clothes and almost ran back inside the submarine. Law still sat where he was, thoughtful look on his face. He didn't feel cold or wet. In fact, never in his life had he felt such warmth.

Suddenly, after quite awhile, Law heard all too familiar chuckle. He frowned at the figure that materialized in front of him.

"And what it is you want?"

…

Yuki was swirling in her cabin, not being able to stand still. How all that even happened? And what exactly had happened? Well...

Newspaper. Right. She was reading a newspaper, then Law came. Then he went away, probably sulking, gods know why. And then?

Ah, right.

Bepo came to her, moaning about the heat. He was a polar bear, nothing strange in the fact he wasn't good with high temperatures. So Yuki, being good friend she was, quickly jumped to the kitchen to bring the bear some icy drink, and found some forgotten, brightly coloured ball. When she came back on the deck, Bepo, Shachi, Penguin, Jean Bart and few other guys decided to play water polo. Yuki, now knowing that she's a Devil Fruit user, voted against it, but they found a solution to the problem. She, and one half of the crew, stood on the deck, while the other part swam in the water (Bepo immediately decided he has to be in the water or else he'll melt). It was real fun, since their ship, even being a submarine, was quite high above the sea level, so the ball needed to be hit with great strength. Those, who didn't have enough of it needed to think of something – for example, to throw the ball from the main deck to the water, and in hands of one of her friends on top of that, Yuki came up with quite a tactics – she jumped on Jean Bart's hand, he threw her up in the general direction of the ball, she kicked it down and landed gracefully on the railing. Flawless plan. First few hits turned out to be great, and when after two hours of playing they decided to make last, final exchange, Yuki couldn't decline finishing with her signature move. But, this time, it didn't turn out to be as flawless as she thought it'd be. Namely, while coming to the 'land gracefully' part, everything went to hell. Yuki slipped.

By the time she was in the water, the rest of guys went back up to the ship. First, in the commotion, they didn't realize they were one girl short; in fact, Shachi was the only one who saw her falling, and, panicking, he did what he always did when he was seeing danger – he ran to his Captain for help. Yuki's cries for help firstly couldn't be heard because of talking and cheering, then, she was already drowning, sinking deeper and deeper inside peaceful blue.

She remembered seeing a figure jumping from the submarine and nearing her; one tattooed hand reaching and tightly grasping her own; the look of 'oh, crap...' on handsome, tanned face. And then, being pulled back.

As they told her while Yuki tried to cough the ocean out of her lungs, the sight of their Captain running and jumping off of the submarine made them see she was in trouble. And so, in the next second, Penguin jumped in as well, saving them both.

Yuki smiled a relived smile. The funny thing was, she hadn't been worrying because she was drowning; no, back then, in the complete silence of the ocean's depths, she was horrified, because her Captain could've drown, too. Even so, how immensely happy she was for him trying to save her...

Yuki closed her eyes and grinned, jumping on the bed. She was already in fresh clothes, and decided to take a walk back on the deck. Law's probably still sitting there, maybe even sleeping; she should bring him some garment for changing. Nice weather doesn't mean one couldn't catch a cold, and being a doctor, he really should know this himself... Maybe Yuki could tease him a little about that. And... Yuki halted her movements. Maybe she should talk to him about something else. Law told her to trust him, and she really should; why then did she keep the secret of her alter ego, Emerald Killer, from him? Her Captain proved to be trustworthy; now more than ever. Yuki stood up and headed for the deck, Law's clothes momentarily forgotten.

She was just about to turn the knob and go out, when something told her to stop. There were two voices coming from the outside, one that undoubtedly belonged to Law. And second? Yuki frozen, her eyes wide, fear like needles stabbing her every nerve.

The second voice belonged to her master.

Shivering, Yuki tried to do anything, to run, escape, move, at least not hear what they were talking about; but she couldn't. Words wormed their way to her ears, as much as she wanted to block them.

"I want back what's mine, Law. I waited long enough. How much time it takes for you to achieve anything on that matter?"

"I've been giving you reports, just like we agreed. What were you thinking, Doflamingo? I still need more time; it's crucial to gain some trust before making a move."

"Is that how you're supposed to be addressing me? Well, anyway. How much time do you need, then?"

"...give me two more years..."

"Fufufu... How could I ever say 'no' to my little brother?"

…

The door to the deck opened, revealing frowning and very annoyed Law. As he was strolling to his room, desperately needing some time to form new plans, he didn't realize that so very near, just behind a wall, the very world of one Yukionna was being shattered.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick reminder that this story was written before the Dressrossa Arc, which means all interpretations on Traffy's relationship with Doffy were based on what little information I had at the time and are mostly wrong :)

Somewhere in the middle of the white desert, where snow never melted, no matter how hard one would try to heat it, sat a curled up form of crying girl. The girl was hard to spot; she was dressed in white, her skin was pale; only long, raven hair contrasted with surrounding landscape.

Some time had passed, and another figure approached the first one. This one, too, had pale skin and raven hair, but was dressed in black, and her nails were long and sharpened to look like claws. The figure crouched beside the first, looking at her face, hidden in pale hands.

"Words 'didn't I say so' are on the tip of my tongue. See? Now you're miserable, Miss I-know-better. And Emy told you to trust her, and not that raccoon-face..."

The silence answered her. Emy sighed and poked the white-clad girl. "Are you going to stay like this forever?"

"...You knew." came muffled whisper somewhere from insides of pitiful bundle of teary white the girl represented at the moment.

Emy snorted. "Of course I knew he's gonna betray or try to use you sooner or later."

"Don't play with me! You know what I meant!" this time, it was a scream. Pity, that the white-clad girl hasn't saw the toothy, malicious grin her angry answer earned on Emy's face.

"Well, I have to say I didn't know that doc works for master as well. Yet I knew he'd use you. You know why? Because, my dear, there is more to us than you'd ever imagined..."

"What do you mean?"

A laugh was the answer. Cruel, mad laugh of a beast her other side was. "You think I'll just tell you like that? What merit that brings for me? But I'll tell you something else. The raccoon-face hurt you, right? He betrayed you, left you broken and crying. He'll sell you to the master, not that I'm minding that part. Why not escape? We can set sail all on ourselves; we can make a boat or bridge out of glass; or we can wait for some convenient island to come. We'll run away, live as we please, without any betrayal or sadness; what would you say?"

The white girl raised her head and looked in the eye of Emy. Her emerald eyes were teary and broken, but there were also a bit of remaining fire in them. "Escape?" she whispered.

Emy tried; she really did; to smile gently. A grimace she received wasn't in the slightest tempting. "Yes," she nodded. "Just the two of us. Trust me. I'll never let you down..."

Yet she certainly wasn't expecting the answer. For Yuki, the girl clad in white, laughed. Sad, quiet and stripped of any humour laugh it was, but still. "Escape, you say... And tell me, where? As who? The person you knew, the person you call your other self is long gone, Emerald Killer! Now it's just me, Yuki. And I own no life apart from the one given to me by my Captain, to whom I pledged my loyalty. I won't escape from him, nor will I betray him, no matter what. If my Captain orders me to die or go back to Doflamingo, I will obey, no matter how miserable that makes me. There's no sense in your tempting, so go away."

"Even now, when you know that all he did and said from the very beginning was a lie?" Emy seemed baffled.

Yuki just smiled bitterly, and stood up. "Then whole of my existence is a lie as well..."

…

The sun was high in the sky when worried Shachi knocked to Yuki's door. The pale girl opened them, and did her best to smile and strike a light conversation, apologizing that she overslept, yet the redhead wasn't convinced. Yuki looked like a shadow of her older self, as if there was just a half of her. She told him she needs some time to clean up her room, and asked Shachi if he could say sorry to the Captain, since she would rather not join the gathering today, on which Law was supposed to tell them his final decision about their next destination.

Of course, Shachi wasn't stupid, so 'sorry' was definitely not everything he was going to report to their Captain. Soon enough, Law himself went inside Yuki's cabin, without knocking and with frown on his face.

"What's happened?"

Yuki tried to act normal, but found it terribly hard to look her Captain in the eye and not feel a pang of pain in her heart. So she averted her eyes to the blouse she was currently folding. "Nothing. I just overslept, sorry for the trouble."

Law frowned even more. It didn't take a genius to see that something was definitely off here. He came to Yuki's side, and put a hand on girl's forehead, checking her temperature. It was normal, but, what surprised him, Yuki almost immediately escaped from his touch, as if it stung her. Law backed off, trying to fight a feeling of uneasiness that settled in his chest.

"If you're not feeling good, just tell me. Maybe you're tired from yesterday's events. Anyway, feel free to rest today. We won't be heading for the New World anytime soon."

The girl kept quiet when he left her room, and Law frowned even more. Strange feeling he was receiving for quite some time now rang the alarm in his mind, but he couldn't find any possible reason for such a change in Yuki's behaviour. She seemed scared of him, just the way she was when he found here in the snow, such a long time ago. Maybe she had another one of those nightmares she insisted not to share? Or was she still feeling guilty for causing them troubles by falling into the ocean yesterday? Law sighed and shook his head. He had no idea what to do now.

…

The strange change in Yuki's behavior didn't go away the next day, and the day after that. Soon, all of the crew felt something is terribly wrong with their only girl. She would avoid spending time with them, talking and so on. Especially when the Captain was near – few times, Law saw her leaving the room when she spotted him. Finally, after three more days, when they docked on some island to refill, the crew decided enough is enough. The breakfast they were eating didn't taste right, nobody wanted to do anything, and Yuki was absent, as it was common for her lately. Penguin, surprisingly, was the first one to snap.

"Alright, can anyone tell me what's the hell happened with our Yuki?" he asked, leaving the rest of guys astonished by aggression in his voice. Shachi looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"I wanted to ask the same; I know none of us are blind, something stinks here, and quite surprisingly, this time it's not Bepo."

"...sorry."

"Well," continued Penguin, gazing at silent Law, "let's face some facts. It all started the day after we played water polo and Yuki fell into the ocean. Captain, you sent us off after I pulled you up, what's happened back then?"

Law's head snapped up. "Nothing happened. Yuki said she's glad we're both alive. Not very surprising train of thoughts after being nearly drowned."

"Hey, guys..." Shachi suddenly interrupted, his face thoughtful. "I know I might be wrong, but how long is Yuki already with us?"

Frowns surrounded him. What's his all about, when they're trying to find a reason for such behavior changes? "Dunno... around a month? Or a month an' half?" somebody tried.

Law frowned, looking at his ginger subordinate. "Why, Shachi?"

"Well, I think we're missing something here."

"And what's that?"

"She's a girl."

"Perfectly sound analysis, mate. What's of it?"

"She's. A. Girl. We know her for. A. Month. Do your fucking math, Penguin."

"What, you mean... Oh."

Bepo looked confused at his crewmates' grave faces. He didn't understand in the slightest.

Penguin once more looked at Shachi with just a little bit terrified expression. "So it's true, that it causes behavior changes? Woah... But, how did you know, Shachi?"

"Well, wasn't that obvious? I mean, it's a period or she's pregnant." All of the crew suddenly looked at Law.

"...what? Why are you staring at me?"

…

While the Heart Pirates were discovering the wonderful world of women, Yuki strolled the empty streets of some nameless city they docked in. She didn't know what to do. Somehow, the plan to keep her Captain and the rest of the crew from realizing she knew about their interactions with Doflamingo haven't gone well. She couldn't bear talking or even looking at Law anymore; her heart stung, and even in the faces of her crewmates she saw a betrayal under usual smiles. Yuki knew very well she was going paranoid, but she couldn't really help it.

Yet, as she stated to her much darker alter ego not so long ago, she couldn't really escape. Not could she bring herself to actually hate her Captain. More so, Yuki, while feeling utterly burdened, betrayed and miserable, found herself blindly clinging to a hope that maybe it was all some misunderstanding. That maybe she misheard; or that wasn't Doflamingo that talked to Law; or that he didn't mean her. Flailing hope it was, and Yuki knew that it's going to either grow or fade – but never completely disappear. At least not in next two years.

That also made her wonder. If her Captain was really such an evil mastermind, why did he need two more years to make her forcefully join Doflamingo again? He should've realized that he had long received her unwavering loyalty and trust. Had she not been eavesdropping that day, she'd gladly do as he told her if ordered, even if it meant going back to hell she knew from her previous life. So why waiting two more years?

There was something wrong. It just couldn't be true, could it? If all Law thought of her was a thing to be delivered to Doflamingo, why would he care for her? Why would he guard her from her nightmares, or jump after her into the ocean, stupid as it was? Yuki never dared to hope her Captain felt anything for her; but she couldn't find an explanation to his behavior another that the thought that Law considered her one of his precious nakama, and won't let go of her easily.

Maybe... Just maybe, she could confront him. Maybe if he explained the talk she heard and feared was real, Yuki would manage to blindly believe in his explanations. Maybe she could feel part of the crew again. But she needed to proceed cautiously – it wasn't as if she had anything to loose, but having your heart broken two times in the row was something Yuki would most gladly avoid. So she made one of the very worst decisions in her entire life. She decided to ask Emy what she thinks about the case first.

…

The darkness fell upon the island, and another sun rose. And when it went high upon the sky, the Heart Pirates crew spilled onto the ground of the little island, faces clouded with anxiety and worry. Even their Captain stood out of the submarine, appointing Jean Bart to guard it, and heading off for the island, frown deep on his face. Law was feeling uneasy for whole night, bad feelings robbing his of his good night's sleep, and when in the morning panicking Bepo ran to the mensa to tell the crew that Yuki's been missing for the whole night, quite few of her clothes and things now gone as well, the Captain knew what was the whole uneasiness for. Yet he didn't believe the girl escaped. Strange behaviour it's way, Yuki just wasn't that kind of a person. Law clearly remembered the look of sincerity he saw in girl's emerald eyes when she pledged her loyalty to him. Yuki would have never betrayed him.

And so, after reorganizing his chaotic crew, Law set on for the search of pale Yukionna, praying that no harm has come to her, and thinking how many hours of infirmary labor she was going to get for worrying him sick.

…

Law laid on his bed, and stared at grinning den den mushi on his bedside table. To say that he was angry was an understatement of the year. He stood up and smashed the thing on the floor. Then, Law turned his head to teary polar bear near the door, his silvery-gray eyes ablaze.

It was too much. They searched for Yuki all day, and all for nothing. She was absolutely nowhere to be found on the island, even in the waters around it. No sign whatsoever, just quickly fading scent that Bepo was able to catch; that, however, turned out to be false hope as well. In the evening Law had to call it a day. And then this had happened.

He went out of his cabin, gathering all of the crew as he went. When they finally got on the main deck, and Law looked upon all of the sad faces, he said:

"We're leaving tomorrow morning, as planned. We've got two years to train before we hit the New World, and it's going to be a hard time, full of work. Make sure everything is ready for journey; I want to see nothing but the depths of the ocean at dawn."

Law saw the hidden disbelief and shock on his subordinates faces, but nobody said anything. Good. Only four of them had a twist of hurt engraved on their foreheads, and he sighed. He really couldn't leave them like that. "Shachi. Bepo. Penguin. Jean Bart. You guys stay, the rest is dismissed."

After what seemed like an eternity, they were finally left alone. "I know what you guys feel, but we can't stay here any longer; we're just wasting our time. She won't come back."

And for the first time in his life, Shachi just couldn't keep quiet anymore. "I don't understand you, Captain! She more to you that to any of us, yet you give up on her so quickly! Yuki deserve better, we should take some time, try to find her, we should..." Shachi was, however, interrupted by a hard hit to his gut that sent him flying on the main deck. Law's quiet fury finally snapped.

"And what do you know! You think it's not hard, Shachi?! Well it is!" suddenly, Law calmed down from his anger and helped his startled friend up. He sat heavily on the deck, back to Bepo, head supported with his hands. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be keeping this from you guys, but I thought it'd be easier for you to understand. After we came back from the search, Doflamingo called me by den den mushi. He _thanked_ me for fetching his long lost toy, and told me to work just as hard on other missions. Don't you understand? He's the one who took Yuki. And as we're now... We can't even dream of taking her back."

Having left his companions startled and furious at dangerous Shichibukai, Law wondered for awhile what would they say if he told them one more thing the spindly pink bastard had told him. And it was just one, simple statement:

"I couldn't believe that you managed to convince her to come to Dressrossa... _Willingly."_

Law closed his eyes. "What have you done, Yuki-ya? What has happened with you?"


	14. Chapter 14

Once upon a time, there was an island. It wasn't big, nor was it famous. Quite on the contrary – it was covered in snow and ice, making the living there almost unbearable. Only on the southwest banks there was soil to cultivate, and because of that, people built there a small village, and named it Onguni; the villagers were only inhabitants of the island. They didn't know wars, or governments; their lifes were simple, filled with hard work, cultivating every piece of ground that wasn't frozen, struggling to find enough grass to feed those few animals that were able to live there with them; but people there were happy, grateful for every new day. They had faith in nothing apart from music; for there was a belief, that every person ever born have their own song; and the only way to find happiness in this world was to find the one who shared yours.

There was a woman, and her husband. They were freshly married, and had the same song. The husband loved his wife deeply, and the love was mutual; not few months after their marriage, the woman announced she's pregnant. That day, her husband sang their shared song as he was carrying his beautiful wife all around the house, dancing with joy. Life couldn't get any better; they seemed to be the luckiest people in the world.

But fate had another plans.

Five months had passed, and the winter fell on the little village. The snow and ice covered their houses, hid the fields beneath it's deadly, white blanket. It was colder than usual, and village's elders guessed that the winter's going to be longer, too. The happiness of everyday's life seemed to escape from the people; in the nights, they could hear howling of white wolves from the other side of the mountains. The frost cracked outside, the days turned short, and watchful nights closed in.

The husband begged his beloved wife to stay indoors. He didn't want to risk her life, as well as their unborn child. He took all of the responsibilities of feeding the family on himself: wandering the surroundings of the village, hunting, digging the snow in search for hidden roots and edible plants. He was smart, brave and quite a bit of lucky, and managed to provide his wife with food and water without much harm to himself... or so it seemed.

At long last, winter was ending. It was the first day that sun shone upon the snow-covered village, singing about upcoming spring. The moods were merry; the wife, hardly being able to walk, given the advanced pregnancy she was in, bid goodbye for her husband as any other day, but this time, she was just a little bit less nervous. Finally, finally that blasted, long winter was coming to an end, and they would be able to get back to their normal, happy routine. Her husband kissed her abdomen tenderly, and grinned, after receiving a vigorous kick from his child. "A feisty little one," he laughed. "Just like it's father." the wife laughed back. "Wait just a little more, I'm going to find something delicious for you today." He smiled at her once more, with love in his eyes, and went out, going for his usual hunting route.

The woman never saw him again.

The spring's upcoming, that everybody so celebrated, caused the unusual masses of snow that covered the mountains to start melting; the weight if it all caused a mass of rocks, snow and ice to fall in form of deadly avalanche, destroying everything on it's way. Not one man who went out of a little forest surrounding the village that guaranteed its safety survived that day; and their families never even found as much as bodies.

When the news came, the woman didn't cry. She didn't faint, nor scream. She just clutched her abdomen, in which her child was growing up, and decided that she won't mourn until in one month, when she was going to give birth. The grief would only cause her child harm. She managed to pull the thoughts of her beloved's death out of her mind, acting as if nothing had changed; but inside, her soul was dying.

When the child was born, the woman cursed it the moment she saw it. Now she remembered her husband's happy face, how he did his best to provide them food. She believed that, is she wasn't pregnant, maybe he wouldn't have to go out on that day; that maybe he would've been still alive. And when she looked at her newborn daughter, blinking at her mother wonderingly with her big, emerald eyes, resembling her father so much, she felt that she was unable to ever love her. And so she presented her first daughter with song that spoke of loneliness and suffering, engulfing herself in pain of widowship.

Many days, many nights the woman spent, broken and grieving, singing the sad, lonely song for her only daughter, crying over the fact she couldn't bring herself to love her, that she wasn't able to look in those emerald eyes of her dead husband and not feel angry with that little, innocent being that was stubbornly alive, while the one she loved the most was no more. After some time, she married again, a man she didn't love, needing somebody to take care of her and her daughter, needing somebody to make her forget her grief. From second marriage she had two daughters, and loved them with all her heart, hoping those feelings will pay off those she couldn't give to her eldest one.

The little girl with emerald eyes and raven hair always knew she was different than the rest of her family and village. Her mother would never look at her; she would never sing for her those nice, happy songs she sang for her little sisters; and the man her mother lived with wouldn't let her call him "father". She was several years older than her siblings, and always played alone, singing for herself the only song she knew; even being sad, it gave her comfort when she cried. And although the girl couldn't really say she was miserable, she just desperately wanted somebody, anybody, to love her...

She was seven when another curse fell on her island, in shape of a pirate ship docking in small port they had. Pirates weren't so much of a foreign sight for her, and usually the villagers would rejoice, as the ship meant being able to sell some of their supplies and buy such things as clothes, knifes, weapons and other things the winter island couldn't provide. But this ship was different; the captain, tall, blonde man with grin stretched all over his face, stood in the middle of the crowd their arrival got and told them to give them everything; and maybe, _maybe,_ they'd let the villagers go without killing anybody.

As could be foreseen, he was politely told to fuck off.

It wasn't wise decision. The dressed in pink captain decided to show them he was serious, and ripped the little child from it's mother's hold, clutching it tightly in one hand, and fiddling with his fingers. Quite by chance, the woman whose child he kidnapped was the emerald-eyed girl's mother, and the girl was there at the moment. She jumped in front of him before anybody could stop her, and screamed at him to keep his hands off of her sister.

The pirate simply laughed, and suddenly, the little girl felt her body become numb. As if she was dreaming, she saw her little, pale hands raise and rest on the throat of her little sister. With horror she saw the fingers of her own beginning to tighten, and she heard the shrieks of the crowd, the screaming of her mother. "No..." she whispered, closing her eyes. "Don't!" she shouted, as loud as she could, praying to the music she felt floating through her veins to save the little child. And suddenly, she felt the strings that made her almost strangle her sister fall, and the silence befell her. The girl opened her eyes, took the unconscious, but alive child from the astounded pirate and looked at her village.

Almost everybody were laying on the ground, fainted.

The pirate behind her blinked few times, and then grinned again. "Interesting..." he said. "You, put the brat where it's mother lays. Then, if you want them all to stay alive, you'll go with me."

…

And so, the little girl went with the pirate captain, not comprehending why she was wanted by him. She was thrust into a cell, she was starved, beaten to the verge of losing consciousness... She hasn't seen the sunlight, nor feel the gentle touch of the wind since she was kidnapped, and her skin turned pale. Or would have, but on the contrary, it turned violet, green and yellow from all the beating.

Sometimes it would be a big person with strange teeth and pointed hair that beat her. He would laugh, and kick her all around the room, shouting something she could no longer understand.

Other times, it would be one resembling a sheep. He was worse, because he put needles in her body that made her feel wobbly or sick. But at some point that sheep-man stopped to come.

And sometimes, it would be tall, stoic man with dark glasses and bamboo stick; he was the worst, he was always beating her so hard, and would never even change his expression. The girl felt as if she existed to be beaten.

From time to time the blonde captain would come. He would talk politely, asking her to show _it_ to him again, that thing he called Haki, and she had no idea what it was. Then, when she tried to explain she doesn't know how to do that, he would stomp on her or kick her, still with that grin on face, and he would tell her to try harder, unless... She dreaded the end of the sentence.

She didn't know how long she spent living just like that. Was it several years, or was it few hours... She couldn't tell. Sleeping, getting beaten, sleeping, sometimes eating... She found that she waited for them to beat her so much she needed a treatment, because then she had some time in peace. Her bones were so often broken she marvelled how it is even possible for her to still be able to move.

One day, they stopped to give her food.

Again, she didn't know how long it took. She felt dead, yet her mind bugged her into standing; going out of opened doors of her cell; going around the ship to find something; _anything_ ; edible. When she saw strange, wrinkled fruit, she wasn't thinking whether to eat it or not; she simply swallowed the disgusting thing and fainted from exhaustion.

When they found her, however, she was beaten into consciousness, and then out of it. Several times. It wasn't until she found herself laying in the pool of her own blood, severed bones sickeningly touching each other and clicking in her bruised body, that the captain went inside her cell.

"Now, that's a miserable look. What a weakling. Hm... Could it be... that's the case..." he crouched beside her, suddenly turning almost friendly. "How about that, brat? I'll make you stronger, and you'll be my tool. I'll let you have a deal with me. A life for a life; you take, you receive. What would you say?"

She knew what he was talking about. She would have to kill, to save the lifes of those she cared for; of the inhabitants of her village. Suddenly, she could almost see them. Her sad mother, her cheerful sisters, everybody. The choice was simple.

She whispered, as she was not able to get any louder sound from her throat. "I want a proof."

Laughter followed. The captain was shaking all of her broken arm, making her hiss in pain as fragmented bone rubbed inside against her flesh.

"Emeralds... For every life taken I'll give you an emerald. And each emerald is one life you can save."

And at this exact moment, the little girl's soul split into two. One of the half shouted 'No!', and made a run for it; but the other half decided to take control; it grinned widely, feeling great in the presence of her captain... her _master_. Feeling needed, the closest thing to love she ever received.

"Deal."

…

She was twenty by the time she managed to collect the amount of emeralds sufficient for the amount of people she knew her village had. The part of her that considered emeralds as shiny little things without any meaning, the part that loved purely to kill, were held back by the other part at that moment; the girl; no, woman; left the pile of emeralds with a note stuck to it and escaped.

She managed to get to her hometown, and was welcomed as a person who came back from the dead; her sisters the first ones to recognize her, her mother a crying mess, hugging her probably for the first time in her life.

She was allowed to have two months of peaceful life with her family. Once, she went to the forest nearby, and when she came back, there was not a person left alive in her village. In the middle of the bloodshed stood the emotionless man with bamboo stick, his fingers stained with blood. "Doflamingo sends his regards. He's giving you the lifes of your villagers, just as requested..."

She stumbled to the nearest body; that of her youngest sister; her blond, curly locks, so different from what her own were like, a red mess right now. She touched them gently; then another body. And one more. Only when she saw the blood staining her hands, she realized what had happened. A tears of hopelessness, of pain and rage filled her eyes, as she sank to her knees, half mad with grief. And she heard the voice of the man as he went back to the boat he came in. "Well, it's all your fault, really."

It was the day when that girl died.

…

Yuki laid on her side, hands forced back and bind with heavy chains, face limply resting on the cold, stone floor of her cell.

There was no sunlight, nor fresh wind coming to the cramped prison she was locked in. Maybe she could've been able to see her surroundings more clearly from behind thick, metal bars if she were to lean against them, or just move from the floor, but she had neither strength nor reason to do so. Her half-opened eyes looked dead; there was no light of life in them anymore.

Quiet sound of footsteps drew near, the door were opened and a figure hovered over the girl. Even without looking, she could sense the mocking grin on other's face.

"It was two years already. Are you going to finally give up, or are you going to stay like this? There's nothing for you worth of waiting for anyway. Nobody's coming to save you."

The girl didn't move, nor answer. The figure above her sighed. "As you wish. I can manage just fine without you. But it's no fun if you keep pretending dead. Admit it already; I won."

Still, no answer.

The person above her narrowed their eyes and kicked the girl on the head, making her move a little, coughing up some blood. The person snorted and left, clearly annoyed. Two emerald, broken eyes followed it's form.

…

Law woke up with a gasp. He sat on his uncomfortable bed in chambers designated for him by Caesar Crown. He was at the forbidden island of Punk Hazard at the moment, waiting for a chance to start leading his long, elaborated plan into final motion. Law hid his head in his hands. Damn that scientist and his greedy nature; damn him for forbidding Law to borrow few of his sleeping pills.

He sighed and stood up. Nothing good will come from dwelling on past or considering future. Right now, he had some work to do. A lot of work to do. The plan needed to be ready always, in case some possibility shows itself out of blue. He had to inspect the iron handcuffs he strategically placed all over the laboratory, mixing them with Kairouseki ones; he also needed to check if his den den mushis were ready to work at any time. And lots and lots of other, small tasks, too. And Law certainly wasn't doing it to keep his mind occupied, just as he did those past two years, getting stronger, hunting for hearts and whatsoever. He promptly told the part of him that thought otherwise to shut up.

He went to the little bowl by the wall and filled it with water, then proceeded to splash his face and make the nightmare go away. It was when he heard low chuckling, and cursed the damn harpy for coming to his chambers unnoticed and certainly without knocking.

"What is it you want, Monet?"

The chuckling continued. "I should be asking that, you know..."

Law let one of his thin eyebrows rise a little. The green-haired bird of a woman was constantly getting on his nerves; he was positive that Caesar or Doflamingo himself asked her to keep an eye on him, which was annoying the surgeon to no end. But lately the harpy became even more persistent, like right now.

"You know, Law..." she started, jumping from the door frame she was perched on, and standing in front of him, draping her wings on his neck, her face too close for comfort. Yet Law didn't budge. He couldn't exactly do so, trying to earn trust and not exactly sure if he should push her off. "I think you're too tense. Might as well help you with that problem, if you will..." she chuckled again at his unamazed look. "I can't deny I find you quite attractive, and I _know_ you think the same of me, after all..." her cheek was touching his, as she blew lightly over Law's ear, whispering what she thought was a really good pick up line, "I was here quite a while, and I heard you call me in your sleep... Although I was quite amazed it's my Devil Fruit that you find the most interesting..."

Law's eyes shot open, as he pushed the harpy off of himself, snarling at her to go away, and so she did, looking somewhere between amused and angry. Law would have non of this. Called her? Called _her_!? What was he, a love-struck teenager with his hormones rumbling? Did the blasted snow-woman really thought he would believe such bullshit?... Law sighed in defeat.

He knew Monet was partially right. He was most probably calling a name; it's just that the snow-woman didn't catch the coincidence. And when his head once again rested on his hands, a tired voice escaped him.

"... _where are you?_ "


	15. Chapter 15

_Somewhere above the ocean._

"I see it already! Punk Hazard!"

"Are you sure, Buffalo?"

"Oi, you can believe my eyes. What are you doing with us, by the way? Young Master sent only myself and Baby 5 for this trip."

"Hihihi... Don't mind me, I just want some fun... Well, if you're sure it's Punk Hazard, I'll be going ahead then... _vitreous arch!_ "

As the swift, black figure disappeared from the duo's view, sliding her way on a thin, transparent bridge made out of nowhere, the person named Buffalo sighed with relief. "I don't know about you, Baby 5, but this one positively makes me cringe..."

…

Yuki was laying still; her eyes were closed, not that it would make any difference whatsoever; her cell was so dark she wouldn't be able to see anything anyway. All she had strength for was living; and even this was a miracle. With every fiber, with every last atom of her existence, Yuki was stubbornly living on.

It was hard. Ever since two years ago, when her other self sneakily took control, bounding her here, in this dark place at the very bottom of her mind, she wondered if she should just give up, and melt into one with Emerald Killer again. But she couldn't. No matter what she did, and how much she was tortured, the sole hope survived in her. It wasn't even fully hope; what made her continuously decline the offer of submission was just a memory; memory of happy faces and laughter; memory of lopsided smirk, silvery-gray eyes and a pair of simple, golden earings.

 _I can't give up... Not yet._ She thought, falling again in her darkness.

...

Law's plan was flawless. It was freakin' genius, probably one of the most elaborated, complex plans he had ever heard of. So, can _anybody_ explain to him just why had he just done something completely unnecessary, namely helped in saving the children Caesar kept here as experiment subjects, and he even managed to get the little reindeer doctor being tied to his spotted hat somewhere in the middle of whole business?! What the fuck could've _possibly_ happened?

 _Mugiwara-ya_. That was what had happened.

Law was currently standing at the brim of a giant trolley. With all kind of people packed in (including quite a few marines, gods know why...) it was too cramped to get inside anyway. And he still had just one, tiny, little problem.

"Mugiwara-ya, would you mind taking your damn ass over here so we can escape?!"

Law soon resigned and sat down, massaging his temples. Why he even bothered trying, really? It was such a tiring day. First, that harpy-woman interrupting his morning. Then, he needed to act as a gate boy and chase the marines away from laboratory; which didn't really go as expected, given the appearance of "White Hunter" Smoker and interruption in form of Strawhat crew. The raven-haired smirked a little; his duel with Vice-admiral was one of bright stars on the dark, dull sky of this day. Law would've never admit it to anybody, but one of the things he craved the most was the feeling of absolute power he got while holding a beating heart in his hand, and looking at his opponents face when they realized their defeat. Yes... The only thing better would be if said heart belonged to Donquixote Doflamingo.

No. Don't think about it; don't go ahead of yourself. The plan. Stick to the plan. Don't consider any if's.

That was his mantra for last two years. Those 'ifs' were something Law dreaded the most. There were days, mostly at the beginning of long period of Yuki's disappearance, when he would have to restrain himself from going to New World right then; there were days, on which he wanted nothing more than to just leave everything behind; every single piece of his logic, coherent mind, and set sail to save his Yukionna. But the ifs kept him at bay; what if she really came to Doflamingo on her own will? Why did she keep her connection to him a secret from her Captain? Was she his spy from the beginning?

What if she was already dead?

Law shook his head. No good ever came from those thoughts. Yuki was a part of his crew. And as long as it took, he would not let her go somewhere on her own, without even a hint of explanation. He had a plan how to save her... and take down Kaidou, as well, but let's call that a second priority.

Speaking of his plan... the untimely appearance of Strawhat actually provided to save the day. Law knew he needed some allies; as much as he knew that Mugiwara-ya was strong, hell, probably even stronger than Law suspected, and his crew wasn't something to take lightly as well. It was a strength he could use in his own battle, and it didn't take him much time to convince Caesar he had nothing to do with other pirate, spotting said pirate and offering him an alliance.

Sure enough, Mugiwara-ya accepted.

That was a right move, Law tried to convince himself. Even the part when they'd tied a reindeer to his hat. Gods, Yuki would laugh her head off if she ever saw that. Hm... Note to himself. When all of this is over, keep Yuki away from the Strawhat crew.

_Stop thinking of her now, you idiot!_

The Strawhat crew provided themselves quite useful, even considering the fact they just HAD to help every living being around them and had a total idiot for a captain. Somehow, leaving Mugiwara-ya with just one, simple task to accomplish, provided to be too difficult, and here he was now, trying to fix things up and get to Caesar before any reinforcements from Dressrosa had a chance to. Speaking of which... It was quite a surprise, meeting Vergo here. Law did his research during the time he received from Doflamingo to become someone worthy Heart's Chair, and he did an extra good work finding out the history of one Yukionna. And while he had his own reasons to fight, tease and finally, win with Vergo, he did it with twice as much pleasure knowing, that he's probably somehow avenging those years of pain the tall, elegant Haki-user caused the pale girl. Not to mention how delighted he had been to wipe the grin off of Doflamingo's face, even if just over a den-den mushi.

Back to the present. Finally, _finally,_ the rest of the Strawhat crew arrived, and the cart was ready to go. Law braced himself for when they'll enter the plain view – he was confident in his plan, but not foolish enough to think that Doflamingo wouldn't send any reinforcements for his underlings. There would probably be a fight, or two, until they reach the ships, and win back Caesar. Speaking of the scientist, Law still couldn't believe Mugiwara-ya was so... frustratingly dumb. Just one thing he needed to do for the plan, and he failed even in that. The doctor sighed, rubbing his temples again. The ride just started, the day was in it's middle, and he was already exhausted.

"Trafal-guy! Come on, don't be sitting there alone, party with us!"

"Mugiwara-ya, there is no time for party now! I told you already!" Law sighed again, and raised his hand to slap two rubber arms that came to his shoulders, probably wanting to drag him into the undefined chaos the insides of the cart presented. But he never managed to do that, as a pair of handcuffs; Kairouseki ones, he was sure from the sudden lack of strength he felt all over his body; came flying out of nowhere and clasped on his hand, shutting firmly. Law cursed, trying all his might not to fall down; cuffed now arm seemed to weigh million tons, and drained all of his energy. At least the rest of the people seemed to see something was wrong, since they stopped singing or talking or laughing or whatever, and settled on preparing for yet unseen enemy to come. Somebody; Law guessed it was the ginger navigator; shouted "Stop the cart!", and the thing started to slow down. It was a good move, since on their way, just in the middle of the passage, a dark, slim figure was standing, leaning nonchalantly on two crossed swords.

Law turned completely around and squinted his eyes, trying to take a better look. He still couldn't believe his idiocy. To get confident enough as to let down his own Perception Haki, and not see an enemy approaching... Foolish! And now here he was, drained of his power. A thing that he would suspect Mugiwara-ya of doing, but not himself.

The figure seemed to straighten a little, taking it's swords out of the ground and swinging them playfully. Law could almost feel the Strawhat crew's swordsman beginning to unsheath his katanas, but he wouldn't have any of this. He turned to the crew inside the cart, and they all fell silent at his face.

"Mugiwara-ya... I would ask you not to interfere on this one."

Luffy looked at him, and at the figure behind doctor's back. Then, his eyes widened in realization. He nodded, and looked at Zoro, nudging him to sheath back his swords.

Law jumped off of the, now still, cart, his Nodachi hanging loosely in his not-cuffed hand. With every step he took, he was more and more convinced of just who was standing in front of him. How could he ever be wrong? It may have been two years, but here, just few meters away, stood the girl he was seeing in his dreams every night; the girl he pledged to save; the girl for whom he did all... all of this.

" _Yuki..._ " he whispered. And then, the little, shy sliver of light landed on said girl's face, and Law needed to fight an urge to jump back.

Before him stood a women. She had pale, fine skin; raven hair, longer than he remembered; she was clad in black top that covered really just as much as her breast, and black shorts; on hands she had plain, black gloves without fingers, and held two transparent katanas. But what changed the most, was her face.

The left side was Yuki Law knew – maybe a little sad, with her eye closed, looking as if in deep slumber. But the right side of the face was grinning devilishly, wide opened eye filled with emerald fire of madness. She was twitching sickly; starting with her right eye, then her lip, arm and neck. She looked as if half of her face was paralyzed.

Law unsheathed his Nodachi. As much as he hated that thought, the worst of his predictions might've been true. Yuki was Doflamingo's killer, and never ceased to be; maybe, due to almost freezing to death and amnesia, she became somebody else, but after remembering, she changed back into what she really was. But...

"It can't be true." he said, looking at the girl in front of him. "Yuki was real... and so are you."

The girl's opened eye suddenly flared in fury. Her voice was strange, hissing and muffled; for talking she, too, was using only half of her face. " _Yuki_? And who is that, would you tell me, Trafalgar Law?" he could sense a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she was saying his name. "The one, broken sliver of this soul you called "Yuki" is no more. She's gone, and much more happy like that..."

"Shut up!" this time, Law too was angry. The girl in front of him tilted her head.

"Oh my..." she said, chuckling lightly. "You loved her..."

…

" _...Trafalgar Law..."_

She opened her eyes sharply, and jerked her head up. Could it be? Her strength was running short with every second, but her dead eyes searched tirelessly for the sign she was waiting for all this time. For the unmistakable surge of light this one person always caused to appear.

She fell again, yet didn't dare to close her eyes. Darkness remained still, but now it was disturbed; a hint of light; flailing, delicate spark was lit inside emerald eyes.

…

"Are you just going to escape from me, great Surgeon of Death?" a howl of wicked laughter burst out into the crampy passage they were in. Law was currently in the air, jumping away from one of girl's mad attempts to kill him. He cursed the cuffs on his wrist; if only he could create a room! Then, he would be able to defeat the girl without killing her; but, as he thought, it was probably the point. She knew he wouldn't be able to kill Yuki.

Law landed gracefully on the floor, and turned back to face mad women. "I will fight with you, disgusting killer; if you tell me where Yuki is, that is."

"Hihihi..." she swinged from right to left, not being able to cease her ticks. Suddenly, she was running in his direction, and Law didn't try to avoid her blades; he just blocked them with his own. It was his mistake.

Two katanas were stopped by Nodachi, of course, but the glass they were made of broke; and as Law was able to avoid the bottom parts, that swinged too close to his abdomen for his own comfort, he wasn't able to dodge the falling top parts, and one of them slashed his cheek – creating a stinging, annoying wound. The killer he was now standing almost face to face with grinned, and let out another howl of that disgusting laughter.

"You ask where this _Yuki_ is, doc? I told you already!" she giggled, her right eye aflame. Yet Law just smiled at this, and sighed in relief.

"You liar..." he whispered, looking in the eye of Emerald Killer, who was at the moment making a confused face. "If Yuki is gone, then why is she crying over my scratch?"

From the left, closed eye of raven-haired girl, pure tears were flowing out.

Full of fury was the howl that Emerald Killer let out, as she unsuccessfully tried to wipe out annoying tears with her gloved hands. Law observed her, trying to make a plan when the girl was busy. If he was right, then what he was encountering at the moment was a case of strong split personality, where one of egos took control. So we had Yuki, currently the weaker one, and Emerald Killer, fighting for the body they shared. But how to help his Yukionna?

…

The shackles were gone; in her cell, Yuki was tirelessly punching the bars that kept her away. Her Captain came for her; the person she was waiting for was here, and sure as hell, no amount of mental torture could keep her from fighting to regain her body once more. She wiped angrily at her eyes; she felt that Emy managed to slash him, and that hurt her more than anything. Yuki knew very well that her other self was vicious and clever; and as much as she realized that Law was definitely stronger, if he decided not to kill her, he might be in danger.

And that was just not allowed to happen.

…

The ticks on Emerald Killer's body worsened. The hatred that was in her sight was infinite, as she glanced at the Surgeon of Death, who was currently holding her two, cut gloves in his hands. Sure enough, the tattoos; the same ones he made for Yuki oh, so long ago, came out after his Nodachi's careful slash. She didn't laugh any more.

" _Specular phantom!_ "

Suddenly, Law was surrounded by hundreds, thousands of girls. Each and every one looked the same, and as the surgeon looked closer, he found out that they were, in fact, countless, human-shaped mirrors, put in such an angle that he could see only girl in it, nothing else. He was completely lost. Where is the real one?

"You know..." the voice came from somewhere between the mirrors, as from each and every one of them Emerald Killer was glaring at him, now trying to hide her anger under playful smirk. "She fights really hard right now... I can feel her, dashing about, screaming at me to stop... She's so desperate to save her Captain..."

"I can't feel my left side already... Well..." the picture on the mirrors changed slightly, and Law, who was trying his best to detect the source of this voice, suddenly felt glass katana on his throat. In his ear, the mad killer whispered with apparent pleasure.

"Lucky I still have my right arm..."

…

Yuki stood, and forced herself not to panic. Just as her alter-ego, she was aware of the things the other was doing.

"No." she said.

…

Law turned to face the killer. It'd be so easy; to just pull out his Nodachi and save himself. But they both knew he won't do it. The killer grinned once more, and then, her eye widened in shock.

"And lucky..." came weak, tired voice from lips on the left side, just under clear, green eye, "that I have the left one..."

The mirrors and katanas were shattered; the eye of the Emerald Killer faded slowly, and closed, to open up as Yuki's; and the raven-haired girl smiled softly, reaching her hand to her Captain's face. Yet pale, tattooed fingers never reached their destination.

Yuki fell, and her eyes closed. In the middle of a quickly growing pool of blood on her chest, protruded a single, transparent spike.


	16. Chapter 16

"Shit."

Law looked at his Yukionna's fall, immobilized, taken by surprise. His initial euphoria from realizing that no, Yuki was not completely lost, and he was going to live, was quickly turned into sheer horror, when the girl stabbed herself to defend her Captain. He moved a second too late to catch her, and keeled by her side instead, hands moving in the softest of trembles; for the first time in his life, the Surgeon of Death felt icy fog of panic envelop him.

The spike in Yuki's chest was seemingly straight, without any thorns or anything that'd make its removal harder to accomplish. Yet the tattooed hands didn't try to; Law knew very well that only thanks to this blasted piece of glass Yuki was still able to use her right lung; ironically, the same thing that pierced the soft structure was what tamed the internal bleeding. For now.

It was truly a miracle the girl was even alive; if, by any chance, it'd be her right hand to deliver the blow, the spike would've pierced her heart, killing her on the spot. Now, it was a serious lung injury. Not lethal.

Yet.

Law looked helplessly at his hands, stained in Yuki's blood from his examination. He was still cuffed in Kairouseki; he couldn't transport her without causing her wound to worsen; he didn't even have a fucking bandage. What kind of a doctor and Captain was he?

"Trafal-guy... Who is this girl?"

Law's eyes didn't leave the sight of his bleeding nakama. He stilled, still trembling hands clutched on Yuki's pale one, searching for pulse. He didn't answer Luffy's question. He didn't know the answer himself.

"When you said, back then, that there is something you need to get back... You didn't really mean your heart, right?" this time, the young, raven haired boy managed to get the doctor to look at him. There was shock written all over Law's face, both from the truth in Strawhat's words and the fact that the boy was actually being serious.

Law looked again at pale, now peaceful face of his Yukionna and whispered, not even realizing he does. "Yes."

"She's your nakama?"

Silvery-gray eyes met dark ones, and Luffy blinked. Ever-stoic irises were now full of emotion.

"She's more."

It was all the Strawhat needed. As he turned back to his crew, his eyes landed on small, fluffy form near Zoro's leg.

"Chopper, this girl... If she dies, I won't forgive you."

…

Strawhats' ship, Thousand Sunny, was very comfortable; much more than, as Law unwillingly admitted, his own yellow submarine. For once, it was definitely bigger and had much more open space. Flower garden on main deck and aquarium below it definitely came as a surprise. Not that he had much time for sightseeing.

Back on a wide sea, key to his cuffs found in Yuki's pocket, with his little gash on the cheek cleaned up and almost healed, Law looked worse than ever. No amount of persuading from little reindeer doctor could pull him away from infirmary; away from the bed his Yukionna was still laying on in coma. He wouldn't sleep, and eat only if one of the Strawhats brought him the food; not even the news that Doflamingo resigned from his Shichibukai title, as planned, could rise his spirits.

Now, after all the adrenaline worn out, Law was able to examine his nakama without panic. He must've admit that the little doctor did marvelous job; surgery went successfully, and Yuki's life was no longer in danger. But he had to see for himself. He had to be there when those eyes would open, and see those two precious emeralds shine with life. Never in those two years had he realized how desperately he needed his Yuki back.

...

Somewhere in the dining room, where Strawhats gathered for dinner, the doctor was constantly the main topic of pondering. Luffy wouldn't tell them what was his talk with Law about; nobody knew who exactly was the mysterious girl. It was quite surprising that Zoro was the one closest to the truth.

"I don't know who is she exactly, but I'll tell you one thing: this girl is very, very precious to him." he said, sipping sake from some random opened bottle.

"And how do you know that, shitty marimo?" came Sanji's response. He was insulting Zoro only half-heartedly, though, busy with swooning around his beloved ladies and pouring another glass of white wine for Robin.

"I don't know about what emotion it might be between them, but... I saw how he fought with her, and believe me, if a swordsman fights seriously, but uses just the back of his sword... It means that he would rather die than kill his opponent. This Trafalgar would allow himself to be killed for her. I'm sure of that."

…

"Yuki."

Voices were blurred and had no sense. Why were they calling her? She wanted to sleep... Yet her eyes decided against it, trying their best to open.

"Is she waking up?" "I have to go." "But you sat there for so long..."

Her eyelids felt so heavy. The light that abused her irises when they raised wasn't familiar, white shade; more of a warm yellow. All of the things and figures around her were a blur of colors.

"Well about time. I'm going now. Don't let her leave the bed." "Okay." "Thanks, little doctor."

There was a definite sound of door shutting, and something familiar; what it was, Yuki had no idea whatsoever; left the room. She blinked once, then twice, wearily, then shot up to the sitting position.

"Oi! You really shouldn't be standing up, you know! It was a serious injury, you had your lung punctured!" some little creature at her bedside screamed, trying to put her back into the laying position, but Yuki ignored it. She would take in her surroundings later. She looked at her hands; hands with nothing on them to hide her tattoos; then, at the right side of her body. Eventually, she slumped, silencing the little creature with this movement, and sighed deeply.

"She's gone..." Yuki whispered, hiding her face in her hands. Tears; hot, salty, relieved ones; came out of her emerald eyes, spilling past her fingers, making the smiley jolly roger cry with her. "She's really gone... Finally, I'm free..."

…

The night was chilly on the unsteady waters of New World, as Law tried to sleep, slumped against a wooden wall of a ship he currently inhabited. His fluffy collar did marvelous job in keeping him warm, but he couldn't say a blanket would come amiss.

All was steady and peaceful; strangely so, given the usual weather on those tides, but Law definitely wasn't going to complain. The sky was clear, thousands of stars shining brightly, making the still water into a silver mirror of themselves. The sea was but gently swaying, making the stars on its surface dance and look even more beautiful than the original ones. A little wind brought chill to the air, making it all the harder to sleep, when the nature was all fresh, mysterious and enchanting.

This is this kind of cold, though Law, that I enjoy the most. Not a blizzard, or cracking frost; they're nice as well, wild and powerful, but such a chill is far better. It does no harm, is not meant to destroy; on the contrary, it is exactly what makes this night seem so beautiful. In the end, a sight of cold moon is always more enchanting than a sight of heavy clouds.

Quiet footsteps was what pulled him out of his musings, even if he didn't let it show. He sighed with exasperation, and maybe a hinted anger, but his eyes, locked on dark sea in front of him, betrayed his relief.

"I do believe you should be resting... Yuki-ya."

He didn't expect her to turn away and go to bed, as he hinted she should, so Law wasn't exactly surprised when all he heard was another step taken in his direction, and a feeling of warm body settling next to his own, wrapping a blanket around them both.

"I do believe I quit the crew, so I do not have to listen to your orders... Trafalgar Law."

There was a question in this weary statement; a weak, broken plea which angered Law all the more. He forbade himself from looking at her; if he were to be a Captain he should be, he couldn't let the sight of Yukionna he fought for, the one he almost lost – disturb him.

Yet he still had to answer. "I don't remember letting you quit. Is there something I'm not aware of?"

Law could almost hear the startled look on Yuki's face. "But... I escaped, I betrayed you, I... tried to kill..."

"Shut up. Damn it, one would think that after two years you'll finally stop being so damn insecure, Yuki-ya. So do me a favor, either stop playing a diva and stay, or go back to bed and for once finish your treatment." Yuki blinked at an angry stare Law was giving her, those stoic, silvery-gray eyes almost flaming. They locked stares for just a while; then, Law turned once again to stare at the horizon, sighed deeply and continued, in voice much more steady. "You did nothing. Don't think me stupid, Yuki-ya; after you left, I did my research, and frankly, I've suspected you might have a split personality disorder since after that fight with Kuma. You know as well as I do that you did not betray me. It was this... this animal, this other part of you. I've seen her, Yuki-ya, I fought and talked with her. And I saw you fighting, as well. So don't you dare taking the responsibility for it." His shoulders slumped, face dropping suddenly to his knees, hiding in tattooed hands. Yuki couldn't find words how to response to all of this.

"You are such an idiot..." Law continued after a while of not-so-uncomfortable silence. "You overhear me talking with somebody who hurt you, and you escape without a word; you loose control over your own body and still fight for it; you wait two years for us, your crew, to come and save you, and you remain loyal; you see me in danger and you almost kill yourself to protect me." Law looked at her again, this time with such sadness and desperation in his eyes Yuki didn't think he was capable of feeling.

"What did you do to me, Yuki-ya? Look at my hands; still they are trembling. And why? Because for the first time in two years, I realized I could just simply loose you."

This finally did it, and with tears Yuki allowed herself to break. She didn't know how she ended up hugging her Captain – for he had always been her Captain, no matter what she might've said – and even more so, not sure why he was hugging her back. But they were there, they were alive and they were together. And so, any why's and how's could wait.

"C-Captain... I am here."

"Yuki... Remember that night we had our last party? The one we danced?"

"Yes?"

"Remember what I told you then?"

"Yeah... That there is a secret you're going to tell me after the party."

"Yes... I wanted to tell you this for two years now. So, do you want to know my secret?"

"Mmmm?"

"I love you."


	17. Chapter 17

They were sitting close; cuddled together under one blanket, as it was common for them. He would tease her about something, as usual; she would try to kick him or elbow him or – sometimes – kiss him in response. They were close. Inseparable.

The main deck of yellow submarine was covered in moonlight. The sea – beautiful, dark sea sprinkled with stars waved just slightly, filling the silence with gentle humming – like a lullaby for both of them. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, and she was holding his other palm, caressing it lightly, absent-mindedly. There was only a bottle of rum between them. Their faces so close their breaths mixed. Both of them lost so much that even when being together for so long, they still were desperate; they still yearned for contact, for each other. And they still woken up with screams, from nightmares of loosing the other one.

He was the first one to talk out loud, although all that was needed was a whisper.

"You were quiet as of late, Yuki. And you won't let me check on you, even though it's obvious something is wrong. What are you thinking about?"

Yuki smiled lightly, and rested her forehead against his neck. "I was just remembering, Law."

"What of?" Law's voice was wary. Neither of them had a past that was nice to remember.

Yuki shrugged lightly, her emerald eyes shining in the dark. "Punk Hazard. Dressrosa. I nearly lost you there."

"And you were nearly lost yourself."

"You mean when? During my fight with Emerald Killer? I thought we talked about it already. She was a disease – an alter ego I invented to justify the killing. And just as it was my own creation, only I could kill her – by convincing my own mind I did it."

"You still could've died in process – that was some fright. But why remembering it now?"

"Oh, I just thought – there are so many things I've chosen not to bring up. Things we agreed to forget. Questions without answers. We were apart for two years, when we both trained – more or less to kill each other. We both changed during that time, but still chosen to start from when we split."

Law smiled lightly, tugging his Yukionna even closer, so she was basically sitting on his lap. "Do you regret it?"

A smile was flashed back at him. "Never. You said what I never dreamed I could hear – that you love me. And even though I still haven't forgiven you this sedative..."

"Oh, come on! You were injured, I couldn't just let you go berserk on Dressrosa..."

"You didn't have to _drug_ me, though. Imagine how nice is it, to receive a kiss just as a mean to swallow a sleeping drug, and wake up to see the person I love basically in parts."

"It wasn't that bad."

"It was. You almost died."

Law sighed, and rubbed his eyes. She was kind of right. "But now we're together. This at least."

"Yes." Yuki smiled. Yes, that was true. They were here, they were together. She didn't know when she started to sing.

_One sails the seas of life and beliefs_

_The storms will lead you home_

_These open roads will call you with a promise_

_You'll walk the Earth alone_

Law smiled again, and joined her. This was their song; their shared tune, and even though he didn't usually enjoy singing, he knew his part in this one – and it was precious to him.

_I live in a dream_

_With open eyes I breathe again_

_I see all your fears_

_Together we can feel_

_We can heal_

_And take the roads less traveled on_

_To here, in the new_

_Like diamonds we will shine_

_We will rise_

_Two hearts when souls are free again_

_We live_

_We sail the seas of life and beliefs,_

_The storms will lead us home._

_These open roads will call us with the promise:_

_We'll walk the Earth alone._

Now, Yuki again was singing alone. It was the last part of the song – the forgotten, unwritten one. The one that changed this tune of loneliness into so much more.

_This dream is a universe_

_And every soul shines_

_When the darkness turn into light_

_I take you to fly with me_

_And follow the way_

_And there will always be a new day._

They finished together, swallowing the last verse in a kiss. After they finished, Yuki leaned back just slightly, with a mischief shining bright in her emerald eyes.

"So? What would you say about the news? That Luffy made it?"

Law shrugged. "Well, I guess you won't get to marry a king, then."

Yuki giggled. "I'll settle for one of Yonkou. But are we still sailing to Raftel?"

"We'll see. Why?"

Yuki shuffled, so she was sitting face to face with Law. Her eyes were shining again, and suddenly he had a hard time concentrating. "You are right; there is something you should check me up on."

Law frowned, then looked at his Yukionna. "I told you. Tell me symptoms, and I swear, Yuki, if you'll hide one more disease from me, I'm going to lock you in the infirmary forever." that actually earned him a giggle.

"Idiot. It's not me who needs your attention now." she took one of his tanned, tattooed hands into her pale one, and held it firmly to her belly. Law first frowned, then looked at her smile, then gasped.

"Oh my God. You are kidding me."

"No."

"You..." now he looked lost. "You really are...?"

Yuki's smile was enough of an answer.

"How long have you..."

"I had a morning disease for a week now. And I made some tests. I'm sure, Law. We're going to have another crewmember in some time."

The grin that stretched Law's handsome face was a rare, rare sight. Then, he frowned lightly, his eyes slightly unfocused.

"We are NOT calling him 'Luffy'."

As the giggles and shouts of _wake up, damnit, I'm gonna be a father and that deserves a party!_ faded, Yuki once again looked up on the lightening sky.

_There will always be a new day._


End file.
